Kathryn Winchester and the Goblet of Fire
by Lady Dawson
Summary: When her father unexpectedly dies, Kat Winchester must move to live with her mother, stepfather, brothers, and unexpected twin sister. As the Triwizard Tournament arrives, she finds love, adventure, and her ultimate destiny.
1. A Death and a Reunion

**Kathryn Winchester and the Goblet of Fire**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter One: A Death and a Reunion

As she stood upon the small cemetery and stared down at the grave that now contained her dead father, Kathryn Winchester couldn't help but shiver despite the warm Floridian air. It had been a month since the death of her beloved father and still, she couldn't seem to accept the fact that this wasn't just a horrible dream that she was going to wake up from.

Kat slowly sank down onto the ground, tracing her father's name on the headstone, sadness weighing down upon her.

She was supposed to be back home, packing all of her belongs so that she could move all the way across the sea with her long forgotten mother, the woman who had divorced Jack Winchester when she had been all of six months old and returned to England, never to be head from again . . . at least, until her father was killed in an car accident. And now, Kat was being forced to travel all the way around the world to live with a woman that she hadn't had contact with since she was an infant.

And worst of all, she was going to have to leave her school, the Lerion Academy of Magic, and all of her friends to attend the Britain school, Hogwarts. It wasn't that Kat hadn't heard very nice things about it; in fact, some of the things they said were nicer than Lerion. But it was the principal of the thing.

Curling up against the grave, Kat wished that she could do something to change that. She would do anything to have her father back.

"Hi, Daddy," she said in a small voice as she sat there with her arms wrapped around her. "It's me. I'm not really supposed to be here, but . . ." She trailed off. "But I just wanted to talk to you. I wish that there was some way that you could talk to me too, instead of having these one-ended conversations." Kat gave a small sniffle. "I'm scared, Dad. Ever since . . . I just feel so lost and like I don't really have a place anymore. And we both know that Mom doesn't really want me. Sure, she might have travelled all the way around the world just to come and pack me up and ship me back there, but she doesn't want me. She's never wanted me, not even when I was a kid." She sighed. "I just wish that I could go back to the way things used to be."

Even as she said the words, Kat could already see her father giving her his usual cocky and wry smile and knew what he would say if he were here. "Change is like the wind, Kitty. It's constantly changing and no one knows which way it's going to blow next."

And Kat knew that he was right.

While she didn't want to go, destiny might have something else in mind for her, something that she might only find at Hogwarts. So even though her mother would probably rather dump her off at a cousin's or something, she wasn't going to turn her back on this.

Suppressing a sigh, Kat glanced skyward. "I know, you're right, Dad," she said, shaking her head. "You're always right." She gave a small smile towards the grave as she stood up, brushing the dirt off of her jeans. "I love you, Daddy," she whispered. "Thanks for the talk."

With one last look at the grave, Kat walked away from the final resting place of Jack Winchester, her sandy locks already brushing against her shoulders as she walked away. In looks and manner, she was the exact image of her father, but she had her mother's tiny form, her slim stature, and her quiet nature. But from the sandy-blonde hair to the bright blue-green eyes, she was made in Jack Winchester's image.

All the way back to her house, Kat kept imagining what her mother was going to say when she came back after disappearing for hours on end. Ever since Rose Carlyle had come back to the Winchester home, she had tried to control Kat, tried desperately to put her on a leash and tighten the collar, but Kat kept managing to break the chain and run free.

Kat, more than anything else, did not want to be controlled. She just wanted to be left alone. The last thing that she wanted was to be in the same house with the same woman that had broken her father's heart and had abandoned her.

Rose had proved fourteen years ago that she wanted nothing to do with her daughter. And as far as that daughter was concerned, the only reason that she was even going with her mother was because she didn't have anywhere else to go.

As she finally came walking up the pathway leading up to the small cottage that had been her home for the past fourteen years, Kat could see her mother's small silhouette pacing back and forth across the living room floor. Suppressing a sigh, she decided to make the quick entrance and climb up the tree in the back, climbing onto the roof and sliding into the bedroom through her window.

Unfortunately, there was no avoiding the quarrel that was undoubtedly going to come as her mother came barging into her room less than second later.

"Where have you been?" she demanded, her red hair coming out of its perfect braid and her dark blue eyes were filled with fury and anger. "Do you have any idea what time it is, young lady? You were supposed to stay up in this room to pack, you understand? I suppose your father just let you run wild all over the place at all hours, but I am not going to stand for it, do you hear me?"

Kat met her mother's gaze evenly without showing any fear. "Yes, ma'am," she said flatly. By now, she had learned that it didn't do any good to argue with the woman; she just said yes now and then went behind her back and did the exact opposite anyway.

Her mother's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't you use that tone with me, girl," she said flatly. "This might not be the acceptable situation to either of us, but no daughter of me is going to go around gallivanting at all hours! When you are in my house, you obey my rules."

_Yeah, well, you're not in your house, you're in mine,_ Kat wanted desperately to say. Her father had left her everything that he owned, which included the house and every cent that he had, which was considerable. But she wasn't going to have access to it until she turned seventeen.

Of course, her father was also very smart. He made sure that her mother couldn't get her greedy hands on it. Under no conditions was Rose going to be able to get even a Sickle out of the account.

Rose gave a huff when Kat didn't even argue with her and turned around, heading back out the door. "I want your things packed up and ready to go by tomorrow morning. If you have to stay up all night, then do it, but we are leaving tomorrow morning, whether you are ready to go or not."

Without another word, she walked out the door, slamming it behind her.

Kat closed her eyes, sitting down on her bed and pulling her photo album to her, curling up onto her bed and opening it, looking down at pictures of her and her father over the years, watching herself as she grew up. Tears flooded her eyes as her father waved happily up at his grown daughter, totally unaware that she, at that moment, was grieving his death.

--

Only a few short days later, Kat found herself sitting in her new room, safely out of her mother, stepfather, and half-brothers' way. She had barely even arrived in this prison when her mother started laying out the rules, which other than mealtimes, she was to stay out of the rest of the family's way.

This was fine by her, because it only took one look at the rest of them to know that they weren't interested in making friends with her.

Her half-brothers, Gilbert and Matthew, had only exchanged a few snobbish remarks to her and it didn't take long for Kat to discover the real reason behind why they were so cruel to her.

Because she was half-blood.

Kat, of course, knew that her mother had been pure-blood and her father had been Muggle-born, but she hadn't realised that her mother had been part of one of those families who prided themselves on having no Muggle blood in their systems. The fact that her father had come from Muggle background meant, in their terms anyway, that her blood was tainted and had completely destroyed their pure, noble blood.

After a few days of the remarks, Kat finally chose to remain in her room, the only solitude that she had access to, or else roaming around the village until she deemed it safe to go home.

For the first time in her entire academic career, she was actually looking forward to going to school. She sincerely hoped that whatever house she was in at Hogwarts, it was as far away from her brothers' as she could get. If she had to sleep in the same house as them, then she was going to run away and go straight back to Lerion, thus putting an entire ocean between them.

Hey, it might be a little extreme, but when it came to those two, Kat didn't think that another planet was going to be far enough away.

Suppressing a sigh, Kat walked over to her window, staring out of it dully, her heart paining as she looked down at the picture of her father that she kept on her desk.

A knock came on her door, startling her, and she looked around, completely puzzled, as she got to her feet, walking over to it and pulling it open, revealing a girl of fourteen standing behind it.

She was a very pretty girl, with a bushel of dark curls crowding her face and blue-green eyes. Something of Rose Carlyle was bore into her face, but she was much taller than the Carlyle matriarch and instead of the permanent scowl that was placed upon her face, there was a nice smile on this girl's.

"Hi, you must be Kathryn," she said, showing off a perfect smile and nice, even teeth. "I'm Faith."

"Kat," she corrected automatically. Anyone who called her Kathryn always made her feel like she was in trouble somewhat, which was why, she was sure, her mother insisted on calling her that. "It's Kat."

Faith grinned. "Sorry. Can I come in?" she asked. Kat shrugged and opened the door wider to admit her. "Wow, cool room. I'm thinking that the parents probably won't approve if they saw this."

"Well, it's probably a good thing that they're never in here," Kat said, shrugging. "Uh . . . sorry, not trying to be rude here, but who exactly are you?" she wanted to know, looking at the dark-haired girl curiously. Other than her name, she hadn't exactly given her much information.

Faith actually looked surprised. "You're telling me that you don't know?" she asked, bemused. Kat shook her head. "Wow, sorry, I assumed that you already knew. I, uh . . . well, I'm your sister," she explained. "Rose is my mom, too."

Kat stared. In all of the conversations she'd had since her arrival here, she hadn't heard one thing about a sister. "They didn't mention a single thing about you," she said.

"Oh, they don't often mention me," Faith said, grinning. "Dear old Mom is still embarrassed by me. Of course, she did a better job with me than she did with you, I guess." She was still grinning, but realised that Kat still didn't have a single clue about what she was talking about. "Look, you might want to sit down for this," she requested.

"I'm good standing," Kat said firmly. "How is it possible that you could be my sister? You look the same age as me and as far as I know, it's not possible to be pregnant by two different men at the same time—"

"Yeah, that's kind of why I want you to sit down," Faith explained. Kat shook her head, a sudden nagging forming in the back of her head. "Okay, look, three things that you need to know. First is that you need to know is that your mother is a complete and total wack job. Second, when she left your dad, she didn't exactly leave on her own. She had me with her."

"And what's the third?"

Faith actually grinned at that. "Well, I just kind of happen to be your twin," she said pleasantly.

For a long minute, Kat just stared at her, completely stunned and disbelief flooding through her faster than a firecracker exploding into the sky. She thought that she had understood Faith correctly, but that just wasn't possible. More than that, it wasn't even probable.

She would _know_ if she had a twin. Her father would have told her if he had two daughters. They told each other everything. They had no secrets from one another, so the only other logical situation was that he had lied.

And the problem with that was that Jack Winchester did not lie or shade the truth or anything.

"Yeah, right," she said flatly.

"It's true," Faith insisted. "When Mom and Dad divorced, they decided to split us up, each taking one of us, instead of being forced to see each other when we went to go live with one of them and then the other. Then Mom met Willard and they got married and had Gil and Matt. I'm not joking about this, Kat," she added upon seeing the sceptical look on her face. "You don't know how long I've waited to see my sis again."

Kat stared at her, straight into her blue-green eyes—her own eyes. Her father's eyes. The Winchester eyes, she thought in shock. She never thought that she would see something like that.

"You really aren't joking, are you?" she asked after a long, tense moment and Faith shook her head, a grin slipping across her face.

"Nope."

Another long moment passed and then Kat moved forward straight into her sister's arms, hugging her tightly and holding her against her.

_Sister,_ she thought happily as they hugged each other. _I have a sister. _


	2. Camping at the World Cup

**Kathryn Winchester and the Goblet of Fire**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Two: Camping at the World Cup

It didn't take long for Kat and Faith to become friends. So long as they were out of Rose's viewpoint, she really didn't care what they were doing anyway, but Kat noticed that there was a height of excitement around the household and the fact that the house-elf Missy was packing up some of their belongings. When she asked her sister about it, Faith explained that they were going to the Quidditch World Cup.

"The World Cup?" Kat said incredulously. She had never been to a professional game, let alone the finals. "You're kidding."

"Nope," Faith said as they were walking around the village again. A few of the passing boys who looked like they were their own age wolf-whistled at them, causing Kat to duck her head, turning a violent shade of red. Faith, on the other hand, only grinned shamelessly at them and blew a kiss to them.

"Anyway, Mom and Willard got tickets from Ludo Bagman, he's head of the Department of Magical Sports and Games. They're pretty good seats, apparently, but I practically had to hex them into next century just get them to include you in this family outing."

"Yeah," Kat muttered. She had no doubt that any of the Carlyles were going to be too keen on her going. "When are we going, anyway?"

"In a couple of days. We're leaving here and then we're gonna have to camp out with everybody else. It should be fantastic, though. Plus, there's probably going to be a whole bunch of our classmates there, so I'll be able to introduce you to some of them. I'm going to pretty much ignore all of the Slytherins and refuse to talk to any of them," she added darkly. "Nothing but a bunch of arrogant, greedy wizards who have need a good kick in the—"

"Faith!" Kat gasped, unable to believe her ears, even though privately she thought it was true. "Are you trying to get yourself arrested?"

"What? You can't get arrested for saying stuff that's true," Faith said sincerely as they walked towards the manor. "But the World Cup's gonna be great. And the sooner that we get there, the sooner that we can get as far away from Gil and Matt as we can. I mean, there's gonna be a thousand things to do there and . . ." Faith continued on chattering for miles on end while Kat only added an opinion or two here and there.

But sure enough, two days later, Kat found herself forced to get up at the crack of dawn in order to catch the Portkey for the World Cup. Thankfully, getting up this early meant that everyone was too tired to even think about snide comments to either of the sisters. And Kat found it hilarious that this was the first time that Faith was completely quiet and silent. Usually, she had her mouth going on twenty-four/seven.

By the time that they were halfway to Stoatshead Hill, however, Faith had woken up a bit and was talking—well, perhaps not a mile a minute, but she was still talking a lot more than one should at sun-up. Kat really tried to pay attention to her, but she was trying very hard to keep up with the rest of them and her legs were a lot shorter than the rest of them.

"Faith, do me a favour?" Gilbert finally said when they were about halfway up. "Shut your half-breed mouth."

The dark-haired twin shot him a withering look, stuck her tongue out at him, and continued to prattle on, mindless of the annoyed looks that their brothers were giving them. Kat smiled faintly; she could never hope to achieve Faith's sense of rebellion and bravery when it came to them. She preferred just to go with the flow. She was like water and so she would find her own path, moving to fit the space she was put into.

By the time that they had climbed the very top of the hill, Kat was exhausted and she would've collapsed had it not been for the fact that Faith was dragging her over to the group that was standing around at the top.

"Morning, Willard, Rose," a redheaded man greeted the adults while Faith and Kat walked over to the rest of the kids that were standing around.

"Why, Faith," one of the redheaded twins said in pleasant surprise. "I didn't think that we were going to be in your joyous presence today. You are absolutely—"

"Positively," the other twin added.

"Beaming with radiance," the first one said. "You grow more and more beautiful every year."

"And you two grow more and more charming every year," Faith said with a flirtatious smile at both of them. Kat couldn't help but smile as they laughed and continued to flower her with compliments and praises. "Enough, the both of you. Kat, this is Fred and George Weasley. Guys, this is my sister Kat Winchester."

"Sister?" Fred's eyes practically bulged out. "You said nothing about a sister!"

"Especially one as fair as this one," George added, making her blush.

"Thanks," she said awkwardly. She had never met anyone quite like this pair before. Certainly, she had a few boy friends at her last school, but none of them were like this pair of troublemakers. No doubt they were a couple of heartbreakers just by the look of them. "It's nice to meet you."

"She can't be your sister, Faith," a girl who was undoubtedly the twins' sister said. "She's far too nice."

Faith smirked as she turned Kat's attention to the rest of the group, which included two more redheads, the girl included, a bushy-haired girl, a dark-haired boy, and a handsome one. Her attention was instantly drawn to the handsome one, her heart fluttering in her chest as he looked at her, smiling at her.

"Hey, Gin, don't let these brothers of yours corrupt you, okay?" she said, grinning. "Okay, Kat, you ready? This is Ginny and Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and Cedric Diggory. Everybody but Cedric is in Gryffindor house with me, but we still like you," she added to the handsome one, Cedric, who just chuckled at Faith's speech.

"Thanks, Faith," he said.

"No problem," she returned with a smile at him. Kat just watched Cedric until he caught her gaze and she turned a violent shade of red before averting her gaze to the ground, refusing to meet his eyes again for anything.

"Must be nearly time," Mr. Weasley said as he pulled out a pocket watch and looked down at it. "Anyone know if we're waiting for any more?"

Faith pulled Kat away from the others as they all started crowding around the Portkey, which was in the form of an old boot. "He's cute, isn't he?" she said, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"Be quiet," Kat implored her. "He's going to hear you!" Faith only laughed, her blue-green eyes filled with mischievousness as the sisters rejoined the rest of them, getting a good grip on the boot. Cedric was right next to her and she was sure that he was going to hear the way that her heart was pounding against her chest with every breath she took as his hand brushed against hers.

His blue-grey eyes fastened on her own blue-green ones for an instant and he gave her a smile before looking away as Kat felt the Portkey begin to activate. Kat winced as she remembered why exactly she didn't like using Portkeys as they all began to rush forward and she felt like she was being shoved through a very tight tube with no room for any of them. Everything was spinning around her until, just when she thought she was going to be sick, her feet slammed onto the ground and she would've fallen over had someone not reached out and caught her.

"Thank you," she said, trying not to sound windswept until she looked up and saw Cedric Diggory standing right in front of her.

"No problem," he said, bending down and picking up her backpack, handing it to her before he went back to catch up with his father.

Beside her, Faith was getting to her feet, looking no worse than she felt as a pair of Ministry was waiting for them, taking the boot and tossing it into a box with some other used Portkeys.

"Morning, Basil," Mr. Weasley said.

"Hello, there, Arthur," Basil said. "Not on duty, eh? It's all right for some. . . . We've been here all night. . . . You'd better get out of the way, we've got a big party coming in from the Black Forest at five-fifteen. Hang on, I'll find your campsite. . . . Weasley . . . Weasley . . ." Kat noticed her mother looking a bit impatient and annoyed that the Weasleys were getting their information before them and Willard looked no less put out. "About a quarter of a mile's walk over there, first field you come to. Site manager's called Mr. Roberts. Diggory . . . second field . . . ask for Mr. Payne. Carlyle, second field as well."

"Thank you very much," Rose said flatly as she pulled her sons away from the Weasleys as though she thought they might contaminate them. Mr. Weasley's expression darkened but he said nothing. "Come along, girls," she added forcibly.

"Coming, Mom," Faith said lightly. "See you guys later, hopefully," she added, giving Kat a wink and a pointed look. "And if not, then we'll see you at school."

"Bye, Faith," Cedric said with a smile at them. "Bye, Kat."

"Bye," she said, making herself look at him and saw that he was only just watching her.

After a chorus of goodbyes, Faith pulled Kat with her. "Come on, we don't want them to go off without us," she said, rolling her eyes. "Knowing Mom, she'll pitch the tent and then let Gil and Matt have the best beds." Kat took one last look back at Cedric and found that he was still watching her, giving her a friendly wave when he saw her looking back.

Reluctant though she was to go with her family, Kat followed Faith as they reached the second field and found Mr. Payne, who was, in fact, probably the only real Muggle around for miles and miles. Although he was suspicious of all of the happenings going on, he was a friendly enough fellow and provided them with maps and gave them firm directions for where they were supposed to go to.

They reached the campsite in record time and Willard took one look around the site before giving it an approving nod. "It'll do," he decided before pushing two tents at the two girls. "You two, make yourselves useful and pitch these. Hurry it up, now," he barked.

Faith sighed and took one of them, dragging it over to the far end. "Pitch that small one over there," she advised Kat in an undertone. "That one supposed to be ours. Best to put some distance between us."

"Good idea," Kat agreed as she did as her sister suggested, managing to pitch the tent without much trouble, climbing into the tent and looking around at her surroundings. It was much less extravagant than anything she thought that the Carlyles would own, decorated in a simple, homey atmosphere.

With a grin, Kat climbed up onto one of the beds, tossing her backpack onto it and climbing onto it as Faith came barging in, looking annoyed.

"Thinks she can scare me," she grumbled. "I swear, even that woman is able to turn a nice family event into a total nightmare. One of these days, I'm going to give her a piece of my mind."

"What's she done now?" Kat wanted to know.

"Just the same old thing; thinks that I didn't do a good enough job and that the tent's going to come crashing down in the middle of the night because I rigged it to smother them all in their sleep. One of these days, I might just do that just to spite her. Maybe I'll ask Fred and George for help with that. They'll do anything for a laugh."

Kat couldn't help but laugh. "So which house did you say Cedric was in, anyway? You said that he was the only one who wasn't in Gryffindor, right?"

"Yeah, he's in Hufflepuff," Faith said as she tossed her bag on the remaining bed and went rummaging through the kitchen, finding a bag of multi-flavoured popcorn and tossed another one to Kat. This popcorn not only had butter and caramel, it also had chocolate and strawberry and loads of other flavours too. "He plays Seeker on the Hufflepuff team. Pretty good, too, almost as good as Harry. Last year, though, when Gryffindor and Hufflepuff went up against each other, dementors attacked and Harry fell off of his broom, so Cedric ended up getting the Snitch."

"Hmm." Kat tried to make her inquiry sound as uninterested as possible. "But you see him a lot?"

"Not really, just know him from around," Faith admitted as she sat down on the bed. "Most of the girls have crushes on him; he's pretty much the big man on campus. Why so interested?" she added teasingly.

Kat looked down, feeling her face heat up. "No particular reason," she said as she concentrated on the popcorn instead.

"You like him," Faith said suggestively, waggling her eyebrows. "Wow, Kat, I've got to admit, you've got good taste. He's really cute, popular, a Quidditch player, and a complete gentleman. Not much more that you can ask for."

"For goodness sake, Faith, I just met the guy!" Kat said in aggravation, though privately, she knew it was true. Just the way that he made her feel inside felt really nice and different. His mere presence caused a whirl of emotions that she never felt before.

"Your point being?" Faith smirked as she stood up. "Fred and George, while sometimes obnoxious, are truthful when it comes to compliments they give to girls. You're a beautiful girl, Kat. Use it," she said. "Now come on, let's go check out the rest of the campsite and see everything that's going on," she whined as she headed towards the tent door.

Kat laughed as she followed her sister.


	3. The World Cup

**Kathryn Winchester and the Goblet of Fire**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Three: The World Cup

Kat wandered through the various vendors that were selling souvenirs for the World Cup with Faith as they bought mementos of the event that they probably wouldn't see again. She doubted that they would ever see the World Cup again. Apart from buying a green rosette that showed that she was supporting Ireland—Faith had bought a red one instead, for Bulgaria—Kat also purchased a pair of Omnioculars, binoculars that would record the entire game, a program, and a green scarf with leprechauns on it that spewed gold sparks every time that she took a step.

Faith, apart from the red rosette, bought a red Bulgarian hat, a tiny model of a Firebolt, a figurine of Viktor Krum, the Bulgarian Seeker, and a Bulgarian flag.

"I think somebody's a little obsessed," Kat observed as the sisters continued to wander through the crowd, still looking at the souvenirs as they headed back to their campsite.

Faith gave her a dirty look. "Look who's talking," she said, gesturing towards Kat's green outfit.

"Actually, I was talking about a certain Seeker," Kat murmured, but Faith was no longer listening as she had found an entire booth devoted to the Quidditch player that her sister was so fond of. Of course, when she heard the price for buying almost everything, Faith's face fell.

Kat looked at her sister's longing face then glanced at the poster, autobiography, robes that said Team Krum on them, and a book with his most famous games in it. Suppressing a sigh, she dug into her purse and produced what money that Faith still needed. The look on her face was worth is, Kat decided as Faith squealed in delight and hugged her.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said happily as she enthusiastically took all of her purchases and started heading back to their campsite with Kat trailing her. "I promise, I am going to pay you back for all of it, I swear."

"Don't worry about it, you just won't be getting anything for Christmas," Kat said, shrugging, making Faith stop and stare at her, looking very thoughtful about this concept.

"This is my Christmas present?" she said, considering. "Okay, I think I can live with that." She continued on happily until they reached the tent and she quickly dove into it, putting all of her purchases where they were safe and changing into the robe that she had bought.

Kat felt excitement start to build up as the rest of the Carlyles started reappearing and it was clear that the match was about to begin by the way that everyone was starting to pack up and head towards the entrance.

"Faith, come on, it's starting!" she called and Faith reappeared, looking enthusiastic as a gong sounded from somewhere within the woods and she rejoined them, straightening her rosette as they began heading into the stadium, waiting for the best event in their life.

"Here are your two tickets," Rose said calmly as she withdrew two golden tickets and handed them over to Faith. "You'll be sitting a few rows below us. Don't give me that look, Faith Carlyle," she added, giving her daughter a contempt look as Faith rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Do you realise how hard it is to get six tickets all together? Especially with the prices that they're charging for them."

"Like we can't afford it," Faith said under her breath, but Rose didn't hear her or chose not to.

"Besides, you two are old enough to know not to stick your nose where it doesn't belong and don't talk to any wizards that you don't know. We'll see you at the end of the match, at the tent." She barely gave Kat a second glance as she walked with her husband and sons, leaving her daughters behind.

"Typical Mom," Faith said darkly before turning to look at her. "Well, you ready?"

"As always," Kat responded as they began heading into the stadium, which looked like it would fit about twenty or thirty football fields inside, and climbing up the steps until they found a Ministry wizard who checked their tickets.

"Right through there, girls!" he said, pointing behind him. "Then turn to your left and all the way up."

"Thank you very much," Kat said, still unable to stop grinning as she and Faith headed inside, following the wizard's instruction until they finally reached where their seats were. "B-54, seats 1109 and 1110," she said, finally locating the right seats and sitting down. Faith practically collapsed beside her.

"Who would have thought that it would be that much trouble just to get to some bloody seats?" she grumbled as she took off her Bulgarian hat, fanning herself with it.

"Well, how else are they going to fit practically every single witch and wizard in Britain, Ireland, and Bulgaria in here?" Kat queried as she looked across the stadium. "Wow, we're really high up . . ." she added, noticing just how far off the ground they really were. Not that she really minded; she loved behind this high up.

"Urgh, don't remind me," Faith grumbled, casting the ground an anxious look. "It's a good thing that we're not in front, because I get major height fright."

"Sacredy cat," Kat teased. Faith stuck her tongue out at her as Kat saw Cedric Diggory and his father Amos come right into the same box that they were in.

"What's up?" her sister asked, glancing around to see what had got her attention. "Oh . . . well this is certainly a delicious surprise," she said, getting a wicked grin on her face. "HEY! CEDRIC!" she yelled at the top of her longs, causing a few of the other witches and wizards in their box to turn around and give her irritated looks, but the handsome Hufflepuff just smiled as they continued to climb all the way to Kat and Faith's row, taking the seats right next to them.

Kat would've killed her sister, but there were too many people around them as Cedric took the seat right next to her. "You should have yelled a little louder, Faith," he said dryly. "I'm not quite sure that they heard you in Romania."

"I think that they didn't hear her in Antarctica," Kat said wryly. Cedric laughed and Faith made a face.

"Oh, sure, have a laugh at my expense," she complained. "Don't mind me, just sitting here."

She pushed herself into her seat, looking determinedly away from them and pretending to sulk. Kat shook her head, looking sideways at Cedric, who had an amused smile on his face. "So, you're the famous Kathryn Winchester," he said. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Really?" Kat couldn't imagine where he might have heard stuff about her, except from Faith.

"Are you kidding? Jack Winchester's daughter," he pointed out. "Played for the Appleby Arrows about fifteen years ago, until he got severely injured and couldn't play professional Quidditch anymore?"

Kat almost laughed as she understood what he was talking about. "Oh, jeez, I almost forgot about that," she said, smiling broadly. "Dad used to reminisce about that all the time. I think he missed playing even more than he was willing to admit." She paused. "And no offence, but you ever call me Kathryn again and I'm gonna have to hurt you."

Cedric laughed, then sobered up as he realised she was serious. "Oh, don't worry, I'm not looking forward to explaining to my friends how exactly a fourteen-year-old girl half my size managed to clobber me."

She opened her mouth to retort, and then saw his amused smile. With a small chuckle, Kat shook her head before glancing at her sister, who was still sulking. "So Faith told me that you're on the Quidditch team at school?"

"Yeah, Seeker," he answered. "You play any?"

"Some, but I didn't really play on the school team," she explained. "It was mostly just recreational."

They would've talked more, but at that moment, the announcer's voice thundered across the stadium.

_"Ladies and gentlemen . . . welcome!" _Ludo Bagman called from where he was sitting in the Top Box. _"Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup! And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce . . . the Bulgarian National Team Mascots!"_

"Yes!" Faith yelled, having forgotten that she was mad at Kat and Cedric, jumping up to root the Bulgarians. Kat shook her head, but clapped along as the veela came out onto the field and began to dance. Most of the men plugged their ears so as not to get caught under the hypnotic spell of the beautiful women, but a few either didn't know what they were supposed to do or just didn't care, because they were hanging over the side of the box, trying to get better access to them.

Clapping politely as the veela stopped dancing and Kat tapped on Cedric's arm to let him know that the danger was over. Faith was laughing at the poor men who had succumbed to the spell of the veela and were now either hanging over the box or else sitting frozen in their seats.

_"And now," _Bagman continued._ "Kindly put your wands in the air . . . for the Irish National Team Mascot!" _

Kat leaned forward in anticipation and cheered with the rest of the Irish supporters as a green and gold comet came soaring around the stadium before splitting into two before forming a rainbow. It was beautiful and anticipating and exciting all at the same time, Kat thought as Galleons began showering down, hitting some of them until they realised what it was.

"Don't bother, Faith," Kat warned her as Faith tried to snatch some of the gold out of the air. "It's leprechaun gold, it's just going to disappear in a few hours anyway."

Her sister looked extremely disappointed as she pushed herself back into her seat as the leprechauns moved to where they were designated to sit on the opposite side of the veela and Bagman's voice once again boomed across the stadium, welcoming the Quidditch players.

_"And now, ladies and gentlemen, kindly welcome—the Bulgarian National Quidditch Team! I give you Dimitrov! Ivanova! Zograf! Levski! Vulchanov! Volkov! And Krum!" _

Faith squealed with delight and Kat exchanged an amused look with Cedric as she forgot her shyness as she lifted the Omnioculars to her eyes, watching as the Bulgarian team flew into the stadium before the Irish team started coming out.

_"And now, please greet—the Irish National Quidditch Team!" _Bagman called._ "Presenting—Connelly! Ryan! Troy! Mullet! Moran! Quigley! And Lynch!" _The seven players zoomed onto the field and Kat followed each of them with her Omnioculars, all the while grinning with delight._ "And here, all the way from Egypt, our referee, acclaimed Chairwizard of the International Association of Quidditch, Hassan Mostafa!" _

Kat watched through her Omnioculars as the balls went into the air and then the game began. As she had never been to a professional game before, Kat didn't know what to expect, but it was something she had never seen before and every play was practically keeping her on the edge of her seat.

The Irish players were superb. It only took about twenty or so minutes for them to score thirty points, leaving the Bulgarians in the dust and opting for the game to become more and more violent. As the Chasers moved to score again, the Beaters were trying to knock them off of their brooms.

Kat gasped in surprise as the two Seekers suddenly began flying towards the ground. Thinking that they had spotted the Snitch, Kat turned her attention to the ground, but she couldn't see anything. It was only when Krum pulled up from his descent and Lynch crashed into the ground that she realised exactly what he had been up to.

"What happened?" Faith asked frantically. "What just happened?"

"Wronski Feint," Cedric explained while Kat rewound the Omnioculars and put it into slow motion so she could see it again, passing it to her sister once she had seen it. "He didn't see the Snitch; he just wanted Lynch to make him think that he had."

"Oh . . ." Faith looked impressed. "He's a smart guy. Really, really smart to come up with that," she said happily, focusing the Omnioculars on Krum until Kat snatched them back from her.

"You should've gotten your own pair if you wanted them," she told her firmly as Lynch was finally revived and returned to the match.

Faith shot her a dirty look and Kat shook her head, catching Cedric's amused look. "I hope you know I don't really know this girl, I just thought that I would seem cooler if I had a sister," she informed him.

"Hey! Don't be mean," Faith whined as the match restarted and the Chasers moved back into action, scoring several more goals until they were leaving Bulgaria in the dust.

"Ouch!" Kat winced as a Bludger hit Krum in the face. She could've sworn that she heard the crack even from where she was sitting, but the referee had become distracted by the veela setting fire to his broom. "That looks like it hurt a lot—"

"Lynch!" Cedric suddenly exclaimed. "Look at Lynch!" Kat looked and realised that the Irish Seeker had gone into a sudden dive and she pressed her Omnioculars against the bridge of her nose so firmly that she was sure she was going to have a mark come morning.

"The Snitch!" Faith yelled and all three of them were suddenly on their feet, Kat seeing the source of the golden ball that would mark the end of the game. "Where's the Snitch?!"

"There!" Kat shrieked as Krum suddenly was right next to Lynch as they dove to the ground again. At the last second, Krum grabbed the Snitch and pulled out of the dive while Lynch, for the second time that night, crashed into the ground. "He's got it! Krum got the Snitch!"

Faith squealed in delight, jumping up and down happily. "Yes! We did it! We won!" she shrieked.

"Not quite," Cedric said, laughing. "Look at the score!"

Following his instruction, Kat saw the scoreboard and her mouth actually dropped open in complete and utter astonishment. "_Ireland_ wins?" she repeated in shock. "Krum gets the Snitch, but Ireland wins the match?"

"How did that happen?" Faith asked, bewildered. They were the only ones who were shocked by the end of the match. "Why did he wait until Ireland was a hundred and sixty points ahead? The stupid moron!"

But Kat and Cedric were too busy cheering for Ireland's victory to even notice Faith's surly mood, but she cheered up when she saw Krum, her eyes glowing with delight while Kat just looked at Cedric, smiling as they cheered the winners.

If only she could have known that the greatest night would soon turn into a nightmare.


	4. Flight into the Woods

**Kathryn Winchester and the Goblet of Fire**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Four: Flight into the Woods

It was late at night when Kat finally laid her head down to go to sleep after much celebrating. Faith, although put out, decided that she was going to celebrate Krum's victory while the others were celebrating Ireland's. When the night started getting late, however, they were forced into their tent by their mother and Kat reluctantly lay down, curling up on her bed.

She couldn't stop thinking about Cedric and the way that he had looked at her, smiled at her. Her heart fluttered every time that she thought about it, but she shook her head, knowing that there was no way that a guy _that_ handsome was ever going to be interested in a girl like her.

While she and Faith might be twins, there was one big difference between them. Kat was the quieter twin, never outgoing, never overconfident. Potions, Charms? Those she could do, but when it came to boys, she ended up just falling on her feet.

Burying her head into her pillow, Kat decided to mull this over later, when she was alone in her room, and closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep much faster than she anticipated. Perhaps she was more tired than she had originally thought.

But her sleep was interrupted not even a few hours later. Screams and people running ripped her from her sleep and Kat sat straight up in bed, wondering what was happening.

"Faith?" she called sleepily, jumping down from her bunk, but her sister was still sound asleep. "Faith, wake up! Come on, there's something going on!" The dark-haired twin still refused to be roused and Kat shook her hard before finally resorting to slapping her across the cheek in order to get her up.

Sitting up straight, Faith looked at her, still half-asleep, and her hand moved to her mistreated cheek, giving her a wounded look. "What was that for?" she complained. "All you had to do was shake me, there's no need for—"

"Shh!" Kat hissed as she grabbed her jacket, moving over to the tent door and pulling it open, revealing the entire campsite in chaos. Her heart leaped into her throat as she saw a family of Muggles being lifted up into the sky. "What on earth is going on?"

"Oh, my god," Faith gasped when she reached Kat. "Come on, we need to get out of here."

"No arguments here," Kat agreed as they raced out of the tent and headed towards the other one, which only contained Gilbert and Matthew. "What are you two doing here? Where are Mom and Willard?" she added, looking around. "Don't you know there's an emergency going on?"

"They're not after us," Matthew said, casting a dark look at the twins sourly. "They're only after Muggles."

"Yeah, so if I were you two, I'd start running before they catch that foul, tainted blood of yours running around here," Gilbert added, chortling. "I'll be surprised if they can't smell it; smells like garbage."

Faith barred her teeth, about to retort, but Kat held her back. "We're getting out of here, are you coming or not?" she demanded.

Gilbert smiled. "We're not."

Shaking her head, Faith grabbed Kat and pulled her out. "Suit yourself," she muttered as they left. "I'm not exactly liking leaving them here either, but I'm not exactly opting for getting ourselves killed for them," she explained to Kat, who nodded, but looked back guiltily at the tent. "Besides, we'd probably have to drag them out kicking and screaming and that's just going to get us killed."

"And what if they're right, anyway?" Kat asked in a small voice. "What if we are in more danger than they are?"

Apparently, Faith had not considered this, because she immediately began moving faster towards the woods. "Well, then, we're going to have to fight," she answered. "Where's your wand?"

"I don't have one," Kat said fearfully. Faith turned to stare at her. "It broke in the car accident with Dad . . . I was gonna get a new one when we went to get our school stuff."

Faith uttered a curse as she pulled Kat closer to her. "Don't worry, sis, I'll protect you," she promised her. Kat swallowed; it wasn't that she didn't trust Faith on that front. It was just that she didn't exactly like being vulnerable in a crisis like this.

And running around the woods, with dark wizards going around, without even a wand to defend herself was her description of vulnerable.

Racing through the woods, the twins kept a lookout for any familiar faces—or even friendly ones, but Kat couldn't see anybody, not in this dark wood in the dead of night.

Finally, Faith slowed down and they moved into a brisk, but slower walk as they began to hear voices throughout the woods.

"Not a good time to be running around, is it, Faithy?"

Kat glanced around to see a blond boy leaning unconcernedly against one of the trees, a gleeful look on his face as he watched them, a smirk playing across his face. Immediately, she took a dislike to him, not sure what it was about him that just made her skin crawl.

"Shove off, Malfoy," Faith growled at him, her expression practically murderous as she pushed Kat ahead of her. "Why don't you do us all a favour and drop off the planet? Then at least we'll be free of your complete idiocy and utter repulsion."

Malfoy laughed then. "Just wait around here, Carlyle . . . if _you_ want to get yourself killed, anyway." His eyes lingered on Kat for a minute before turning away from her.

"Who's that?" Kat wanted to know the moment that they were out of hearing range.

"Draco Malfoy," Faith said darkly. Clearly, from the look on her face, she didn't think much of him. "For lack of a better term, he's the prince of Slytherin house and a complete snob. You know how bad Mom and everybody else is?"

"Yeah . . ."

"They've got nothing on the Malfoys. Piece of advice, just avoid him at all times. The less that you're involved with that creep, the better." She sent a loathing look behind her and continued on ahead. "Man, what could any of those thugs possibly have been thinking?"

"No kidding, most of them worked pretty hard to keep themselves out of Azkaban," Kat agreed. "Seems pretty stupid to start up with this stuff again. I mean, if I was a Death Eater who didn't land in Azkaban, I would keep as far away from this stuff as I could."

"Faith, Kat!" a familiar voice yelled and Kat looked around to see the Weasley twins with Ginny running towards them, their red hair very evident even in the weak light. She breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing them there, grateful to find someone familiar in here.

All of them looked very shaken and afraid as they joined up with the sisters. "Any idea what's going on?" Faith asked them, but all three of them shook their heads.

"No, Dad went with Bill, Charlie, and Percy to help sort everything out," Fred explained. "We lost Harry, Ron, and Hermione, you two haven't seen them, have you?"

"The only person we've seen is Malfoy," Faith grumbled. "We should stick together, might be safer that way."

Maybe it was the seriousness of the situation, but Fred and George definitely were not in the mood to spout poetry and other such flattery as the five walked together in the woods, sticking so close together that there was barely even room to walk without tripping.

It felt like forever as they walked around the woods before everything seemed quieter than it had seemed before. After much deliberations, the group finally decided to go back to see if it was safe. Although the campsite was half-destroyed and there were people standing fearfully around, it was clear that the danger was over.

"Thank goodness," Faith said in relief, but Kat's attention had been focused on something else.

"Faith, look!" she exclaimed, pointing towards the sky, where the skull and snake was evident. Her heart almost stopped upon seeing it; that was the mark of Lord Voldemort, the sign his followers shot up into the sky whenever they killed. If the look on her sister's face was anything to judge by, Faith had absolutely no idea what the symbol meant, even though she guessed that it probably was not good.

"What is that?"

Kat suppressed a sigh, not wanting to be the one to explain this. "It's the Dark Mark," she explained. "Voldemort's mark." She ignored the flinch that came from all four of them. "Whenever his followers killed people, they would always send that symbol up into the sky." Everyone stared at her. "Dad told me," she said uncomfortably. Even now, almost two months after her father's death, she felt uncomfortable talking about him.

"Fred, George, Ginny!" a voice yelled just as Fred opened his mouth to say something. Another redhead who looked like he could be a rock star was heading towards them. "Thank goodness you're all right," he exclaimed as he hugged Ginny tightly. "Where are the others?"

"We got separated," George explained. The man frowned in worry, but cast a quick glance towards the sky.

"Dad went in there with some of the others from the Ministry," he said gravely. "He'll find them if they're still in there. Come on, let's get back to the tent," he said fiercely, pushing them ahead of him. "You girls, too," he added to Kat and Faith.

Kat followed them as they were herded into the Weasley tent. The redheaded rock star turned out to be the eldest Weasley brother Bill and upon arriving at their tent, she found out that there were two more brothers, Charlie and Percy.

Sitting down in one of the chairs, Kat pulled her knees up against her and hugged herself, praying to whatever higher power was listening that there was no one hurt. _Don't let anybody be hurt, _she thought desperately. _Let them be fine. Please, just let all of this be just a way of shaking us up and nobody was actually—_

Looking up as Mr. Weasley entered the tent with the missing teens, Kat released a small breath of relief.

"Did you get them, Dad?" Bill asked, sounding worried. "The person who conjured the Mark?"

"No. We found Barty Crouch's elf holding Harry's wand, but we're none the wiser about who actually conjured the Mark." Everyone was stunned upon this revelation, including Kat, and a series of exclamations went out across the tent before Mr. Weasley started to explain the events of the evening.

By the time that they were done, Kat was sure that her mouth was hanging open, awestruck. "How could they possibly think that a house-elf could have conjured that Mark?" she asked incredulously. Everyone looked at her and she blushed, but ploughed on. "I mean, for one thing, where would she have even learned how to conjure it? It's supposed to be a very specific spell and only Voldemort's followers know how to summon it," she said, ignoring the flinch that went around the tent.

"Be that as it may, Mr. Crouch was quite right to get rid of an elf like that!" Percy said indignantly. "Running away when he'd expressly told her not to . . . embarrassing him in front of the whole Ministry . . . how would that have looked, if she'd been brought u pin front of the Department for the Regulation and Control—"

"She didn't do anything!" Hermione said, sounding angry as she shot a furious look at Percy. Kat blinked in surprise; Hermione and Percy seemed like they were two people who would get along very well. "She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time!"

"Hermione, a wizard in Mr. Crouch's position can't afford a house-elf who's going to run amok with a wand!"

"She didn't run amok! She just picked it up off the ground!"

Putting two fingers in her mouth, Kat let out an ear-piercing whistle, causing everyone to jump and wince. Faith, however, had plugged her ears the second before she had done it.

"You remembered," Kat said brightly.

"After seeing Matt and Gil squeal like a couple of suckling pigs every time you do that, how could I possibly forget?" Faith countered as she lowered her hands away from her ears.

Kat smiled, but sobered as she looked at Percy and Hermione. "All right, enough, the both of you. This evening has been stressful enough without arguing about house-elf rights," she said tiredly. It felt like hours since she had lain down in that bed. "Not that I don't agree with you," she added quickly as Hermione sent her a furious look.

"Look, can someone explain what that skull thing was?" Ron wanted to know. "It wasn't hurting anyone. . . . Why's it such a big deal?"

"I told you, Ronald, it's You-Know-Who's symbol," Hermione said impatiently. "I read about it in _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts._"

"And it hasn't been seen for thirteen years," Mr. Weasley said. "Of course people panicked . . . it was almost like seeing You-Know-Who back again."

Seeing that the youngest redheaded brother still didn't get it, Kat explained, "Voldemort and his followers sent the Dark Mark into the sky whenever they killed. It was the symbol of terror and fear. Imagine if you came home to find that symbol over your house, knowing that the moment that you set foot inside, everyone that you knew and loved was gone. Just like that, in one second, they had been ripped away from you."

"I thought your dad was a Quidditch player," George said, sounding impressed. "Where'd you learn all this stuff?"

"He _was_ a Quidditch player and then he became an Auror when he couldn't play anymore," Kat explained. "Besides, Dad thought that forgetting history means that we're doomed to repeat it, so he taught me pretty much everything he knew about the days of Voldemort."

"Didn't help us catch the Death Eaters, whoever conjured it," Bill said. "It scared them off the moment that they saw it, Disapparated before we could unmask any of them. We got the Muggles down before they fell, though."

"Why did they take off when they saw the Dark Mark? Wouldn't they have been pleased to see it?"

"Use your brains, Ron," his eldest brother said tiredly. "If they were Death Eaters, they've worked hard to stay out of Azkaban when You-Know-Who fell, told all sorts of lies about forcing them to kill and torture people. They're probably more frightened of him coming back than the rest of us. Denying they'd ever been involved with him, going back to their daily lives . . . I don't reckon he'd be over-pleased with them, do you?"

"So . . . whoever conjured the Dark Mark," Hermione said softly, "were they doing it to show support for the Death Eaters or to scare them away?"

The only person who could answer that, thought Kat, was the person who conjured it.


	5. Diagon Alley

**Kathryn Winchester and the Goblet of Fire**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Five: Diagon Alley

When they got back to the tent, Kat was hardly surprised when she found her mother and stepfather already there, waiting for them. The yelling and shouting was expected, even presumed, but it was much shorter than she expected. Kat suspected that either one or both of them were out there in those cloaks, because they insisted on packing up and leaving as soon as they could.

Not for the first time, Kat wondered why her father had fallen in love with her mother—and even more importantly, why had her mother loved her father? If she hated Muggles and Muggle-borns, as she had suggested on more than one occasion, then it stood to reason that she wouldn't bother having a child—let alone two—with a Muggle-born. Kat longed to ask Rose that question, but decided it wasn't worth the risk.

Almost the second that they got home, Kat went up to her room to find a letter waiting for her, the owl waiting expectantly. Moving over to him, she removed the letter and the owl took flight once again, leaving Kat alone in her bedroom as she sat down to read the letter.

_Dear Miss Winchester,_

_We are pleased to inform you that your transition from Lerion Academy of Magic to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has been approved for the following semester. Enclosed within this is all of the necessary books and equipment required. _

_Term begins on September 1__st__. We are pleased to have you joining us this term. _

_Sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Deputy Headmistress_

Kat smiled bittersweetly. On the one hand, it would be nice to be at her father's old school, but on the other hand, she was going to be sad to be starting a completely different school, having to make completely different friends, which was not something that she did very well.

Sure, she'd had a few close friends at Lerion, but they had been friends since they were eleven. Kat knew kids well enough to know that letting the new girl in wasn't something that they did easily. Most of them, more often that not, were going to treat her like an outsider, an outcast.

Even with Faith there, Kat doubted that any of them were going to be happy to include her in their groups. She closed her eyes, leaning her head back and staring at the ceiling as the other twin came tearing into her bedroom.

"Did you get your letter too?" she asked excitedly, the same exact letter that Kat had in her hand clutched in her twin's. "This is so great! Mom's gonna have to take us to Diagon Alley and get our school stuff! I mean, we can't very well just show up without any of our stuff. The great thing about it is that Mom is just gonna let us go on our own and not worry about us. She'll be too busy fussing over Matt; he's going to be starting this year."

"It's his first-year?" Kat asked.

"Yeah, Gil's in his second," Faith answered. "He's in Slytherin, with the rest of the slimy toads. Thankfully, I'm in Gryffindor, so I don't have to deal with him much except for during the holidays." She was practically beaming and Kat couldn't help but smile at her sister's infectious excitement. "But never mind that; I can't wait to go shopping. I'm not exactly sure what the dress robes are for, though."

"Dress robes?" Kat echoed, bewildered. "Sounds like they're for some kind of a dance."

"A dance? At Hogwarts?" Faith frowned at this. "We haven't had a dance in the three years I've been there; why would we suddenly start now?" Kat shrugged as she turned to the second page, which was a list of all of the necessary books and equipment. "Whoa, how come you've got a longer list than mine?"

"Because I'm a new student, Faith," Kat reminded her. "I've probably got to get most of the stuff you've already got."

"Oh . . ." Faith nodded as she considered this. "Well, I'm gonna go ask Mom when we're going to be able to go. Term's going to be starting soon and we're going to need to get all of it." She tore out of the room again, pounding down the stairs, yelling for Rose.

Smiling faintly at her twin, Kat looked over the second list, but her thoughts were on the events of last night, which had triggered horrors of which her generation had never seen before.

Kat closed her eyes as she thought about her father and the millions of times when she had asked him why Voldemort would go after Muggles or attack people just for the sport of it. She never had gotten a straight answer out of him.

"He was a man once, Kitty," he said, using his pet name for her as she sat in his lap, a mere child. "A corruptible and power-hungry man, but he was a man. Then he became a monster. And that's all that is left on the surface now. Always remember, Kitty-Kat, that power can corrupt. If you taste just one lick of dark power, it can turn you down a path that you may not want to go down. With great power—"

"Comes great responsibility," Kat finished up for him. "I know, Daddy."

"The brave do not live forever, Kitty, but the cautious do not live at all," he told her. "Be brave, my girl, and live . . . live for me."

"Dad . . ." Kat whispered as she looked at the picture of him on her desk. "What's going to happen? Is this the beginning of a war that is too great and terrible to stop?"

And even though Jack Winchester was gone, Kat could've sworn she heard his voice whisper, "Yes."

--

A few days later, Kat found herself in Diagon Alley, where Rose was taking her brothers shopping for their new school stuff. She gave the sisters a bag full of money each. "I expect that will take care of all of your supplies," she said unkindly. "And I don't want to see any of those foul trickster items in the house, Faith," she added warningly.

"Trickster items?" Kat asked the moment their mother had moved away from them, herding the brothers towards the bookstore.

"Joke shop stuff," Faith explained. "I know, but Fred and George got me hooked on them and well . . . Mom wasn't too thrilled." She rolled her eyes. "Oh, well, come on, let's go to Madam Malkins' first, we can get your robes and both of our dress robes."

"Okay." Kat followed her sister towards the robes shop.

"Good afternoon, girls," a pleasant witch said the moment that they entered. She was beaming at them as they entered. "How can I help you two today?" she asked as she gestured them further into the shop, where Kat saw an assortment of dress robes.

"Well, my sister needs Hogwarts robes, she just transferred there this year," Faith answered. "And then we both need dress robes."

"Of course," Madam Malkin said, gesturing Kat towards her. "Let's get you fitted for your school robes first and then you can take a look at the dress robes to see which ones you like."

Kat waited patiently as they fitted her for the black robes that were the uniform. She took a look in the mirror, liking the way that she looked in her uniform. Her sandy-blonde hair stood out a lot more and her blue-green eyes were positively gleaming.

"You know, you look kind of hot," Faith teased, causing Kat to scowl at her sister.

"Shut up," Kat said, giving her a dirty look as Madam Malkin finished adjusting it to the right length and wrapped them in a package for her as the sisters moved over to the dress robes section to see what they had.

The twins tried on a series of dresses, some just for the fun of it, until Kat finally settled on a light purple gown with sheer sleeves and gold lace around the stomach and wrists. Faith decided on an orange gown with a low neck and short sleeves.

"I can't wait to see the boys' faces when they see you in that," Faith said excitedly as they walked out of the dress shop, carrying their packages. "And I think Ced's going to fall at your feet when he takes one look at you."

Kat actually blushed, wishing her sister wouldn't prattle on about Cedric. "Faith, stop it," she said pleadingly.

"Oh, come on! It's obvious that you like him."

"He's a nice boy," Kat agreed. She had never known anyone like him, someone nice and sweet and a real gentleman. They just didn't make them like that anymore.

"A boy?" Faith echoed, giving a laugh. "Did you see the way that he was looking at you? I've never seen him look the way to anybody and there are some lookers at Hogwarts." She shook her head. "I mean, come on, Kat, Cedric has a thing for you."

"He does not have a thing for me," Kat said stubbornly. "We were just talking, that's it."

Faith heaved a sigh, shaking her head as they headed down the street to get the rest of their supplies, stopping at the supply shop to get parchment and quills and ink and stuff. "Kat, if you saw the way that he was looking at you, then you wouldn't say that. He's never looked at one girl the way that he was looking at you. And he was looking at you with me right next to you. That should give him points."

Kat stared at her sister, then turned away from her, picking up some more items before she headed towards the front, handing her stuff over to the cashier and handing her the correct change. "Why are you being so stubborn about this?"

"Why are _you_ being so stubborn about this?"

"Because I'm a Taurus," Kat answered simply. "What's your excuse?"

"Hey, I'm a Taurus, too," Faith pointed out.

With a reluctant smile, Kat shook her head as they headed into the bookshop to get all of their books that they needed. As they wandered through the shelves, Kat picked up all of her books, picking up a few more, including _Hogwarts, A History,_ _Brewing for Flavour: Potions for Fun and More_, and _Charming Your Friends, Enemies, and Galore. _

"Okay, that's pretty much everything on the list," Faith said as she looked down at her list. "So we just need to stock up on potion stuff and then we'll be done. And best of all, we can go get some ice cream before we have to meet Mom."

"Not quite, I still have to get a replacement wand," Kat pointed out. Faith's mouth opened in remembrance.

"Oh, yeah, right . . . okay, why don't you do that and I'll get our potion stuff?"

"You sure?"

Faith nodded. "Yeah, I'll see you in a minute, all right?" she said. Kat frowned, but then noticed that there was an extremely cute Hogwarts student heading towards the potions' supply shop.

Shaking her head as her sister disappeared into the shop, Kat headed towards Ollivander's, pushing the door open and making her way inside. Setting her packages down on a chair, she looked around for the wandmaker, who was coming out from the back as she saw him.

His moon eyes focused on her as he spotted her and his eyes widened in surprise before he smiled.

"I wondered if I was every going to be seeing you, Kathryn Winchester," he said pleasantly. Kat stared, shocked that he knew who she was before she had even said anything. Mr. Ollivander gave another smile as he headed towards the wands, picking a few up. "Why, it seems like just yesterday that your parents were in here, buying their wands. But you're too old for this to be your first wand," he added sharply.

"No," Kat agreed. "My . . . my wand broke in a car accident," she explained uncomfortably.

"How unfortunate," he murmured. "Your father was a brilliant spellcaster, did things with his wand that I had rarely seen before. Quite the Charms student, you know. He is very much missed," he added to Kat, who smiled gratefully at him. "But perhaps his talent lives on, through his daughters. From what I hear, you've become quite the Charms student yourself. Well . . . here we go, try this one. Holly and phoenix feather."

Kat raised the wand, only to have it snatched away and replaced by another . . . and another . . . and another . . . it felt like she was trying every wand in the shop until at last, he went to the very back and produced a very beautiful crafted wand.

"Try this one," he instructed, handing it to her. "Rowan and phoenix feather, 7 ½ inches."

Gently, Kat took it into her hands, feeling warmth burst into her hand as she took it. Her old wand had felt nothing like this, she thought as she raised it into the sky and fireworks exploded from them.

Unable to keep the grin off of her face as Mr. Ollivander smiled with approval. "How wonderful . . . how very curious," he murmured thoughtfully.

"What's that?" Kat asked.

Those moon eyes turned to her. "I've had that wand so long I've nearly forgotten about it," he said softly. "And it just so happens that the brother of this wand—for the phoenix that gave it gave two feathers, one for each other the wands—happened to be Helga Hufflepuff, one of the founders of Hogwarts School."

Kat couldn't stop her mouth from falling open at that revelation. "My wand is the brother of Helga Hufflepuff's?" she whispered in utter amazement, staring down at the wand that he handed her.

"Oh, yes," he agreed. "I've had that wand so long, Miss Winchester, that I'd nearly forgotten that I had it. Over a thousand years old, that wand, and very powerful. I expect that we will see great things from you, my dear."

Taking a deep breath, Kat forced a smile onto her face. "Thanks," she murmured as she paid for her wand and hastily made her escape, heading towards the Leaky Cauldron.

"There you are!" Faith said, almost irritably when she saw Kat. "You took forever, what was the hold up? Never mind, I know what it's like at Mr. Ollivander's. So, let's see the wand!"

Pulling her wand out, Kat showed her and Faith beamed with envy upon seeing the beautifully crafted wand. "Rowan and phoenix feather, 7 ½ inches," Kat said.

"Cool," Faith said, but Kat could tell that she had lost interest. "Listen, could you take my stuff back to the manor for me? I just met this guy Derek and I kind of want to get to know him better." The mischievous smile made Kat think that her sister had a little bit more on her mind than talking. "Don't worry about me; I'll take the Knight Bus back. Thanks!"

She took off, leaving Kat standing in the pub. "And people think that I'm the strange one," Kat murmured as she gathered up their belongings and went to go meet their mother.


	6. Onto the Hogwarts Express

**Kathryn Winchester and the Goblet of Fire**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Six: Onto the Hogwarts Express

The last weeks of summer finally drew to a close and there was a feeling of autumn slowly descending upon them. As Kat packed up all of her belongings and placed them in her new trunk for her first day at a new school, she couldn't help but feel excited, despite the situation that had caused her to come here, to be going to Hogwarts. Her father had talked about it constantly and it had left her with an extreme desire to go there, rather that Lerion.

Faith certainly seemed happier than usual as they were readying to go to school—but maybe that was just because once they were there, she wouldn't have to put up with either of their brothers once they were at the school. Kat would bet all of the money in her inheritance that Matt was going to be going into Slytherin with Gil. From what she had heard, it seemed perfect for both of her brothers.

When the morning finally came for them to board the Hogwarts Express, Kat was already up and ready before the sun had really started to shine, checking everything to make sure that it was in her trunk before she got dressed and headed down to breakfast, then double and triple-checked her trunk before they were ready to go.

"You'd better be in Gryffindor," Faith said severely as they climbed on the Knight bus to get from the manor to King's Cross Station. "I swear, if you're not, then I'm never speaking to you again."

"Really? Then who are you going to talk to next summer?" Kat wanted to know, giving her a smug smile. Faith's accusing smile vanished and she scowled, choosing to look out the window instead, watching the streets of London zooming by. Kat had looked out at first, but it had soon made her sick and she chose to just look around at the passengers instead.

"All right, maybe not just Gryffindor," Faith finally said when they were minutes away from King's Cross, "but if you do end up in Slytherin, then I swear I will disown you."

Kat shivered at the thought. "No worries, Faith. Dad told me about that place and I'm not even going to consider going in there, no matter what the Sorting Hat says. Not even for a minute."

Faith looked happy to hear that. "Good. Jeez, what is taking so long?" she complained as she craned her neck to see around her and ended up falling on the floor, flat on her face. Hearing laughter coming from behind them, Kat glanced around to see her brothers hanging in their seats, grinning mercilessly at Faith's fall.

"Can it, you two," Faith grumbled as she accepted Kat's help in guiding her back to her seat. "Remind me to ask Fred and George for some help getting revenge on those two when we get to school."

"Somehow, I don't think you're going to have any problems in getting them to do anything," Kat murmured as they—at last—came to a stop at King's Cross and she gratefully got off, stepping down off of the bus as she entered the London train station for the first time in her life.

"We'll take the boys up ahead," Rose said over her shoulder at the twins. "You two follow after."

"Whatever, Mom," Faith said flippantly as they walked ahead of them before disappearing into a wall between Platforms 9 and 10. "All right, I'm going to explain this really quick, okay? To get to the platform, just walk between the walls of Platforms 9 and 10."

Kat looked at her doubtfully. "I think you're pulling my leg," she said sceptically, looking at the two platforms. "But all right."

"Would I pull your leg?"

"Yes."

Faith frowned, considering, but nodded in conceded defeat as she broke into a run, pushing the trolley ahead of her before she vanished into the wall, leaving Kat alone in the train station.

"Well, here goes nothing," Kat whispered as she ran right after her sister, disappearing through it and reappearing on the opposite side, revealing Platform 9 ¾, with a great scarlet train gleaming at her happily as she stood there for a minute, awestruck.

All around her, witches and wizards were saying goodbye to their parents. Kat saw a few people that she recognised from the World Cup, including the Weasleys with the other two that they'd had with them, Harry and Hermione.

Kat caught up with her sister as they boarded the train just as the train whistle blew and it began to move. Gil and Matt immediately took off to join some of their slimy Slytherin friends, leaving the twins alone.

"Listen, Kat, I promised Fred and George that I'd catch up with them, so do you mind if I see you later?" Faith asked. Kat opened her mouth to protest, but Faith was already dragging her trunk down the corridor, leaving Kat alone in the passageway.

"Oh, sure, Faith, no problem, I'll be fine on my own," Kat muttered as she started dragging her trunk down the tiny aisle, trying to find an empty place to sit, but all of them were full and all of them eyed the new girl suspiciously before continuing on with their conversations. Kat started to despair when the voice of her saviour caught her ear.

"Kat?"

She looked around to find Cedric Diggory standing behind her, looking happy to see her. "I was wondering if I was going to see you," he said with a smile as she stopped, looking back at him. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to find somewhere to sit," she said weakly. "Faith went off somewhere and . . . kind of left me alone."

"Sounds like her," he said dryly. Kat made a face, but knew he was right. After all, Cedric did know Faith probably a bit better than she did, since he had known her since she had started school here and Kat had only met her about a month back. "Come on, get in here. There's plenty of room."

Kat let out a relieved sigh, despite the way that her heart was racing in her chest as she dragged her trunk in with her and, with Cedric's help, navigated it onto the holsters above them.

Cedric looked around at the three other students that were in the compartment with them. "Everybody, this is Kat Winchester," he introduced. "She's transferring here this year, fourth-year. Kat, this is Elaine McKinsey, Dean Reynolds, and Andy Campbell."

"Hi," Kat said shyly as they all exchanged their hellos. "Nice to meet you."

"Judging from the accent, you must be from the States," Elaine said. Kat nodded. "How exciting! What brings you to this part of the world?"

Immediately, Kat felt a stab as she was reminded, once again, of her father's untimely demise. "My dad was killed," she said after a minute. "And my mom lives here, so . . . I had to come live with her and my sister." She felt someone watching her and when she looked up, she saw Cedric with his eyes fixed upon her, sympathy written in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Elaine said, jerking Kat's attention away from Cedric. "I shouldn't have asked."

Shaking her head, Kat gave her a reassuring smile. "It's okay, you didn't know," she pointed out.

"Winchester!" Dean suddenly exclaimed, pointing directly at her. "Now I remember where I've seen you at! You're Jack Winchester's kid!" She nodded, grateful for—well, not if for a different topic, but at least one that wasn't quite as painful. "Oh, man, your dad was one of the best Quidditch players of all time! He's one of my favourites!"

Cedric laughed. "Right, because when her dad retired from Quidditch, you were two," he pointed out.

Dean sulked, giving him a look. "Well, that's completely beside the point," he complained. "Shut up, Ced," he added as Cedric grinned. Kat couldn't help but giggle at their antics.

Elaine shook her head at her, giving her a nice smile. "Don't mine them, Kat, they're always like this. I swear, sometimes I think they're sixteen going on seven."

"Hey!" Cedric protested. "I'm seventeen . . . well, next week, anyway," he added in defeat when Elaine gave him a nice smile.

"Your birthday's next week?" Kat asked him.

"Yeah, September 9th," he answered. "Dad should be thrilled when I finally get my Apparation license."

Kat smiled, enjoying herself with the older students—Elaine, Dean, and Andy were all in their sixth-year, with Cedric, but they didn't seem to mind having a younger student with them as the conversation began moving into the World Cup.

"Mum waited too long to buy tickets, which I personally think that she did on purpose," Elaine said miserably, the only one of them that hadn't been to the game. "But we might have a chance at the Quidditch Cup this year."

"We're not having Quidditch this year," Andy said. Kat's head swivelled around to look at the solemn boy sitting by the window with his legs propped up on the opposite seat.

"What?!" Cedric demanded, outraged.

"No Quidditch?" Dean repeated, stunned. Kat could see their reaction; even in Lerion, not having Quidditch would've been a severe disappointment to most of the students.

"Why not?" Kat asked, her curiosity spiking. They wouldn't have cancelled the Quidditch season for no reason.

Andy shrugged. "I don't know. My dad just said that we weren't going to be having it this year when I talked to him about joining the team. Not that I was going to be able to, anyway. You need parental permission to play and he wouldn't give his without a piano dropping on his head."

Cedric looked extremely unhappy to hear this particular piece of information as the grey skies that had been hovering over them all day started to pour at long last.

"No Quidditch," Dean whined, sounding like a little boy in a store that hadn't gotten a toy that he asked for. "A whole year without a single Quidditch match . . . that's just wrong." He looked sullen and disappointed as he leaned against his seat.

"Maybe they've got something else going on," Kat said helpfully. "Something even more exciting."

"Bad choice of words there," Elaine said wryly as Dean's eyes popped open and he sat up straight, staring at her in complete and utter disbelief.

"'Something even more exciting'?" he repeated. "Winchester, there isn't anything more exciting than Quidditch! It's a way of life, it's more than a sport, it's what we thrive on, it's—"

Elaine reached over and clamped a hand over his mouth, preventing any more words from coming out. "Enough, Dean-o," she said chirpily.

Cedric laughed as he watched his friends with twinkling blue-grey eyes as he leaned towards Kat. "You'd think that they were dating, wouldn't you?" he whispered. Kat grinned, hiding her smile behind her hand as Dean and Elaine continued to squabble. "I wouldn't be offended if you took off, with this lot around here."

"Not unless you want me to," Kat told him, suddenly thinking that maybe he was sick of her.

He smiled, causing her heart to jump and her palms suddenly grew very sweaty. "Not for the world."

She blushed at his words, a pleased smile crossing her face as she noticed that the train was finally starting to slow down and she peered towards the window.

"Finally!" Dean said, forgetting his argument with Elaine as he jumped to his feet. "I'm starved!" They had changed into their Hogwarts robes earlier, so all of them got up and started to head towards the front of the train to descend onto the muddy and rainy street.

Kat pulled her robes up around her sandy blonde hair as she looked towards Cedric. "Where I am supposed to go?" she asked desperately. "I'm not exactly a new student, but I—"

"Not sure," Cedric said, looking towards where the first-year students were heading. "Come on, there's Professor Hagrid. He'll probably know." He took her hand and led her over to a giant of a man with a long, shaggy beard. "Professor?" he said politely. "This is Kat Winchester, she's transferring here this year and we're not sure where she's supposed to go."

"Right here," Hagrid said with a smile at her. "She's supposed to go with the other new students. Welcome to Hogwarts, Miss Winchester."

"Thanks," Kat said weakly as Cedric, to her disappointment, let go of her hand.

"I'll see you at the Great Hall, Kat," he said, giving her another smile. "Hopefully, you'll be in Hufflepuff." She gave a small wave as he headed back towards his friends, breaking into a run to climb into one of the carriages.

"Hopefully," she whispered as she stared down at the hand that Cedric had just let go of. _I'm never washing this hand ever again,_ she thought happily as she followed Hagrid and the first-years into the boats, heading to Hogwarts.


	7. Her Sorting and the Tournament

**Kathryn Winchester and the Goblet of Fire**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Seven: Her Sorting and the Tournament

It felt very strange and awkward to be walking with the first-years as she climbed up the steps to the castle and be sorted with the rest of them. Certainly, several of them were looking at her strangely, whispering amongst themselves and she fidgeted under their gazes, but fixed her gaze on the castle itself, taking the time to notice all of the beautiful decorations and the fine architecture, admiring the structural design until Professor McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress, came into the hall to greet them.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said pleasantly, but severely, immediately reminding Kat of one of her old teachers, whom she had gotten on the wrong side of the first day of school and he hadn't like her since then. She decided there that she didn't want a repeat of that, so she would try to stay on this woman's good side. "Now, in a few moments, you will walk through these doors and join your classmates, but before you can take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin.

"Now while you are here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you points. Any rule breaking and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will win the house cup."

She looked over the rest of the first-years before her gaze fastened on Kat.

"Now, line yourselves up. No, Miss Winchester, you go in front," she added to Kat. "As you're a transfer student, you'll be Sorted first." Kat nodded, shivering slightly, although she wasn't sure if this was due to nerves or just cold. She was soaked to the bone from riding on those little boats on the lake in the freezing rain. "Now, follow me."

Kat walked after the deputy headmistress, the first-years right behind her as they headed into the Great Hall. A few people were whispering and pointing at her, the strange unfamiliar fourth-year that was with the rest of the first-years.

"Students, quiet!" she barked, although there was no real need. They had all peered at her the moment that she entered the hall. She could see Faith giving her a curious look. "Seeing as we have a transfer student this year, we will begin the Sorting with her before we begin with the first-years." She looked at Kat. "Winchester, Kathryn."

It was the first time that she had ever been called first in her life—seeing as she was at the end of the alphabet—and Kat wished that she hadn't had those Chocolate Frogs that Cedric had offered her on the train as she climbed onto the stool and McGonagall set the Sorting Hat onto her head. Clear as a bell, she heard a voice inside her head.

_"Hmm, interesting, very interesting. An excellent mind, you have with a heritage that I don't think that you even recognise yourself. Daughter of Jack Winchester and Rose Trudeau, you have a gift and that is you are true of heart, pure and sweet . . . _HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat cried.

The Hufflepuff table roared with delight as McGonagall lifted the hat off of her and she raced to join the rest of them. Cedric was grinning at her as she took a seat with some of her fellow fourth-years.

"Well done!" a pleasant girl said with a smile at her. "Welcome to Hufflepuff! I'm Susan Bones," she introduced before nodding to the others in their year. "This is Hannah Abbott, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Ernie Macmillian, and Jo McKinsey."

The last one was a pretty girl with short auburn hair that bounced as she turned around to look at Kat, her grey eyes focusing on her with a rogue smile. "Hey, Kathryn," she said. "It's about time that we had someone new around here. I'm getting tired of telling all these boys no all the time."

"It's Kat," she corrected automatically.

"Meow," Jo joked as the Sorting continued on behind them. "Anyway, don't look so worried, we don't bite. Well, Hannah might," she said, causing the girl in pigtails to glare at her half-heartedly. "But it's not poisonous."

Kat laughed as they turned to watch as the new Hufflepuffs joined the table, sitting at the far end, next to the second-years. When it was finally over, the food began to appear on the table and they began to dig in. "So, where'd you transfer from, anyway?" Jo asked her.

"Lerion Academy," she answered.

Jo looked impressed. "Wow, that's supposed to be one of the more prestigious schools," she said. "My mom wanted to send me there, but they said that I didn't possess certain abilities."

"Which ones?" Hannah asked.

"The ability to behave myself," Jo answered, causing laughter to break out across the table. Kat smiled. "Anyway, don't be shy, come on, tell us all about yourself," she encouraged.

"Jo, for goodness sake, the girl just got here," Susan laughed. "At least let her finish dinner, we're all hungry. Besides, it's a brand new school. Remember what it was like when we first came here?" she added, looking pointedly towards the first-years, who were looking around excitedly and nervously as they ate.

"No, it's okay, Hannah," Kat said. "But there's not a whole lot to tell about me. I'm not really that interesting."

"I'll bet that's not true," Jo argued. "I think you're probably a bit more interesting than you think. What do your parents do?" she asked.

"Uh . . . my dad was an Auror," Kat said, choosing the quickest way to get the conversation over with. "And my mom . . . mostly just looks after the household while my stepfather works with the Ministry."

"Oh . . . so your parents aren't married?"

"Not for a long time."

"That's too bad," Jo said as she took a bite of chicken. "Scary how many divorcees there are nowadays. Pretty soon, there's going to be more divorces than there are marriages."

"Isn't that the truth," Kat murmured as she bit into a roll. She never ate very much, even when she was little, and it didn't take much to fill her up. "What about your parents?"

"Dad works in the Ministry, the Department of Magical Transportation," Jo answered. "Mum owns a magical creatures shop in Hogsmeade. We don't live that far away, just on the other side of the village, but Mum insists on my riding the train every year. Says that it's an important rite of passage or some other junk like that," she said. "I stopped paying attention to her when I was eleven, so who knows what she actually said. So what's your favourite subject?"

"Charms," Kat said immediately. "That and Defence Against the Dark Arts. So who are all the teachers, anyway?" she asked as she glanced up at the row of teachers that were up on the table that sat in front of the four student ones, filled with teachers.

"Well, Professor McGonagall you know, that's the Transfiguration teacher," Jo answered, nodding towards the stern witch. "Professor Dumbledore next to her is the headmaster. And there's Professor Sprout, Herbology teacher and head of Hufflepuff house. You'll go to her if you get in trouble or anything," she added. "Then there's Professor Flitwick, Charms, Hagrid, Care of the Magical Creatures, Sinistra, Astronomy, Vector, Arthimancy, and Burbage, Muggle Studies. I'm not sure who's teaching Defence this year . . ." she added, scanning the teachers carefully.

"What do you mean?" Kat inquired.

"Well, we haven't had the same teacher two years in a row," Ernie explained. "There's been all kinds of stuff . . . one was possessed by You-Know-Who, another had his memory erased, the last one, Professor Lupin, was sacked because he was a werewolf," he added. "Personally, he was the best one that we've had so far."

"A werewolf?" Kat repeated, startled. "I'm surprised that Dumbledore even let him teach. Not that I've got anything against it," she added quickly, "but I wouldn't think that the school board would find it appropriate."

"Probably why they kept it quiet until Snape let the cat out of the bag last year," Jo told her. "Oh, great, here comes the speech," she added as Dumbledore got to his feet. "Sue, wake me when it's over, okay?" She put her head onto the table.

"So now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention while I give out a few notices. Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises of some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office, if anyone would like to check it. As ever, I would like to remind you that the forest on the ground is out of bounds, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third-year.

"It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

He had to pause as several cries out outrage echoed throughout the Great Hall. Jo was still half-asleep on the table, not at all intrigued by these words, as she continued to sleep on. Ernie, however, looked positively outraged upon hearing this.

"This is due to an even that will be starting in October," Dumbledore continued, "and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy—but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts—"

Before he could continue with his announcement, the door flew open and a man stepped inside. Kat sucked in her breath upon seeing the man. She had seen photographs in her dad's album of him.

"Alastor Moody?" she breathed incredulously. He had been her father's mentor during his early years as an Auror, but the pictures of him had been when he had been far younger and less scarred.

She could hardly believe that it was the same man. The man in the pictures had been handsome, even rugged, but now he was so scarred that he was hardly even recognisable. Parts of his skin were missing and he was missing an eye. Instead, he had a magical one in its place, which moved incessantly, never stopping.

"Mad-Eye Moody?" Susan whispered, looking at her. "The Auror?" Kat nodded wordlessly.

"He worked with my dad, once," she whispered. "I've never met him, but I've seen pictures. He looks a lot different in them, though," she added as Moody reached Dumbledore, shaking hands with him as they spoke in undertones before Moody joined the teachers' table.

"May I introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher?" Dumbledore said cheerfully. "Professor Moody."

The applause for the new teacher was short and brief and only by Dumbledore and Hagrid. Kat was too stunned to see her father's old colleague there to even consider applauding and everyone else seemed shocked by his appearance.

"As I was saying," Dumbledore continued. "We are to have the honour of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING!"

Kat couldn't help but giggle at Fred Weasley's outburst, but she wasn't the only one. Laughter broke out across the hall and Dumbledore actually smiled, chuckling. Jo actually banged her head as she woke with a start, staring up at Dumbledore in shock.

"I am _not_ joking, Mr. Weasley," he assured the redhead, but he was still smiling with great amusement. "Though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go to a bar—"

McGonagall cleared her throat and he switched the subject.

"Maybe this is not the time, no . . . where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament . . . some of who will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who _do _know will forgive me for giving a short explanation and allow their attention to wander freely.

"The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities—until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued."

"Awesome," Jo breathed, looking thrilled and excited as she looked towards Dumbledore.

"There have been several attempts over the years to reinstate the tournament, none of which have been very successful. However, our own departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger.

"The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the Glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons prize money.

"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts, the heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction this year. Only students who are of age—that is to say, seventeen or older—will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This—" Here he had to raise his voice to be heard above the roars of protest—"is a measure that we feel is necessary, given the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion." Kat noticed his eyes moved onto the Weasley twins at this comment.

"The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know you all will extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop, chop!"

"That's not fair!" Jo complained as she stood up with the rest of them, heading towards the Hufflepuff common room. "We should be allowed to have our chance, too!" She looked extremely sulky.

"Oh, don't be daft, Josephine, you can barely even point your wand the right way," Elaine said as she came up from behind them, the prefect badge clear from where she was standing. "Hi, Kat," she added, smiling at the new Hufflepuff. "Glad to see that you joined us."

"Thanks," Kat said, smiling at her while Jo just glared at the older girl.

"I see you've met my kid sister here," she said, giving Jo's red hair a playful tug. "Whatever you do, don't listen to anything that she says, she'll only get you into trouble."

"I'm not that bad," Jo said snippily. "And I can't wait until you graduate," she added under her breath while Kat smiled, amused by the sisters' antics.

"Anyway, I'd better get the first-years," Elaine added. "The new password is 'pritzfield,'" she added. "Be a dear and show Kat where to go, won't you?"

She swept off to join Cedric, who waved to Kat with a grin at her before they headed to show the new students the way to the common room. Kat waved back to him before she followed Jo and the others towards the Hufflepuff common room.

It was decorated in yellow and black, not Kat's favourite colours, but she had to admit that they worked well together and a painting of a badger was above the fireplace, squeaking merrily as she headed up to the dormitory that she was sharing with the other girls.

"There's your bed, Kat," Susan said, pointing towards the one nearest the window. "Unless you'd prefer not to have a window view. I'll switch," she offered.

"No," Kat said happily, laughing. "It's perfect."

Susan smiled as they all changed into their robes and Kat climbed into her bed, looking out of the window with the rain splattering against the pane. The only thing that would've made this better, she thought, was if her father was alive to tell him about it.


	8. First Day

**Kathryn Winchester and the Goblet of Fire**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Eight: First Day

When she woke up the next morning, Kat found the rest of her dormitory still sound asleep and the rain that had been hovering over them the previous night had ceased, with only grey clouds lingering above them. Trying to keep as quiet as she could, Kat slipped into the bathroom to get a shower before the rest of them woke up.

Kat quietly headed out of the dormitory, picking up her backpack from her trunk as she left, hurrying down the steps until she reached the common room, unaware that someone else was there as well until he spoke.

"Morning, Kat."

She had to cover her mouth to stifle the small shriek that escape from her as she spun around to see who it was that had spoken, relaxing when she saw Cedric standing there, smiling broadly at her, but that didn't slow down her racing heartbeat.

When she managed to get her breath back, Kat glared at him. "You jerk, you don't sneak up on people at the crack of dawn," she accused him. "You stomp or . . . yodel," she added lamely. Cedric had a hard time keeping a straight face. "Shut up."

"Not a morning person, I take it," he observed as he fell into step next to her.

"No," Kat muttered.

Cedric grinned wildly, but wisely kept his mouth shut until they had reached the Great Hall and she got some tea in her and woken up a little bit. "So, what do you think about the Tournament?" he asked when he saw that she looked a lot less drowsy than she had at first. "Seems pretty cool."

"Yeah, until you consider the death toll," Kat pointed out. "You're not seriously considering entering it, are you?"

"I'll be seventeen in a week," he reminded her. "Why not?"

"Uh . . . because you could get killed," Kat said pointedly. "I get that the Tournament's a big deal and it means a lot if you get chosen, but you could also get killed, Cedric . . . why risk it?"

He stared at her for a long moment, then glanced around as a few people started to gather around the table, all of them chattering mindlessly. "Grab a few pieces of toast," he told her. "Let's take a walk."

"Uh . . . I still have to get my schedule," she said, but was already obeying his instructions.

"Don't worry," Cedric said with a smile at her. "I'll have you back in plenty of time. We'll just go for a walk around the lake." Kat frowned, but followed him with a few pieces of toast in hand as they headed out of the Great Hall and out of the castle.

The grounds were still wet from the thunderstorm the previous night and just as muddy, but there was a sweet scent that always followed a rainstorm and a soft mist had fallen onto the grounds as they walked across the grounds, quietly eating their breakfast.

When they had reached the lake, Cedric suddenly stopped to look back at Kat.

"You want to know why I want to enter this contest?" he asked softly. "The real reason?" Kat shrugged, but nodded. "It's not because of the eternal glory or anything like that. Sometimes I just want to prove something to myself, I want to prove that I'm not just . . ." He trailed off, unable to phrase what he was feeling, but Kat knew.

"That you're more than what your reputation says you are?" she suggested. "You want to prove to yourself and everyone else that you're more than just a school prefect, Quidditch player, and popular?" Cedric gave her a rueful smile. "Don't you think everybody wants to prove that? It's a school, nobody ever fits in. We all just adapt to the titles that people give us and then in a few years, when we meet up with old schoolmates, we're a completely different person that who we used to be."

"I just don't want to be that guy anymore," Cedric admitted. "I just want to . . . be myself, I guess."

"Then be him," Kat suggested. "Just be Cedric Diggory and if you want to enter the Tournament, then enter it. Just do it because you want to, not because everyone expects you to."

Cedric gave her a small smile. "You give pretty good advice for a fourteen-year-old," he said. Kat stuck out her tongue at him, causing him to laugh. "Would you enter, if you were seventeen?"

"Uh . . . definitely not," Kat said with conviction. "I'm not exactly inclined to go off risking my neck just to have my name down for all of history to know about." She bit into the toast. "Why did you tell me this, anyway?"

"Sorry?"

"Why tell me? Why not one of your friends?" she asked.

He looked embarrassed as he leaned against a tree, glancing towards the lake. "I trust you," he said simply. Kat fought the blush that crept up into her face, but it ignored her will, revealing itself to the world. "Um . . . you won't tell anybody this, will you?"

Kat mimed locking up her lips and throwing away the key. He smiled as he looked back across the lake, accepting a piece of toast that she offered him. This place really was beautiful, Kat thought as she looked up at the castle, sadness going through her.

"What's wrong?" Cedric asked her and she realised that her eyes were slowly flowing with tears.

"Uh . . . nothing, just something in my eye is all," she said as she hastily wiped away her tears. "You know, my dad used to tell me about this place for as long as I can remember. He said that he was never happier than when he was here. I just wish that he was still here so that I could talk to him, even if it was just in a letter."

Cedric placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, sympathy going through his face. "I'm sorry about your dad," he said.

"I just can't believe how much my life has changed since the accident," she whispered. "Sometimes, it just feels like I'm living another girl's life." It was the first time she had said that to anyone. Even Faith didn't know the depths of her grief and how much everything just overwhelmed her.

"Someone once told me that you should just be yourself," Cedric offered, giving her a teasing smile. "Be the you that you want to be, not the one that everyone else expects you to."

She hit him playfully. "That's not what I said."

"I edited," he pointed out, grinning before he looked back up at the castle. "We'd better get back if we want to get our schedules. Hopefully, they won't have messed this one up like they did last year," he added dryly as they made their way up to the castle.

Unfortunately, the muddy slope was not going to be kind to them, as Kat slipped on it, ending up tripping over her own feet and causing both her and Cedric, who was next to her, to end up in a heap on the ground.

Kat blushed violently when she realised that she had landed on top of Cedric and was so close to him that she could see just how blue-grey his eyes were. "Sorry," she whispered, but then realised that Cedric was laughing so hard that he was almost crying. "What—?"

She stared at him as he continued to laugh, unable to control it as it spilled out of his throat. After a minute, she couldn't help it; his laughter was contagious and a small giggle escaped from her lips as she realised just how funny this situation was and joined in, their laughter echoing in the morning dawn.

By the time that they managed to get to their feet and reach the Great hall, their laughter had ceased, but Cedric still had an amused smile on his face as they rejoined the Hufflepuff table. Kat saw Faith at the Gryffindor, chatting endlessly with the Weasley twins, but she gave her sister a grin as she saw Kat and Cedric entering the hall together.

"Ah, Miss Winchester," Professor Sprout said brightly as she handed out the new class schedules. "A pleasure to have you here. I remember when you father was here . . ." She prattled on about Jack Winchester as she handed Kat her schedule. "There we are. And welcome to Hogwarts," she added with a smile.

"Thanks." Kat glanced down her schedule to look over it carefully. In addition to the regular classes, she had signed up for Care of the Magical Creatures and Divination, the latter of which she had first, which was located in the North Tower. "Uh . . ." She glanced around at Cedric, who was pouring over his own schedule. "Cedric, where's the North Tower?"

"Divination first?" he guessed, glancing up at her. She nodded. "Okay, go out the Great Hall and take the staircase all the way to the fifth floor and then go to the left. When you reach the second corridor on your right, go down there and you'll reach a second staircase, which you'll take to the seventh floor. With me so far?" She nodded, trying to bear this all in mind. "When you reach the seventh floor, go to the right and you'll find a spiral staircase that will lead directly to the Divination classroom." Cedric looked apologetic. "Sorry, I know it's a lot to remember."

"I've got near-perfect memory," she assured him. "I'll be okay."

"All right, but if you get lost, just ask one of the paintings, they'll be sure to set you straight." She nodded as she got up. "I'd take you there myself, but I've got Potions first thing and it's as far from the North Tower as you can get."

"It's okay. Thanks, though." Kat smiled at him as she got up, swinging her bag onto her shoulder as she headed out of the Great Hall, about to follow Cedric's instructions when she heard someone yelling her name.

"Kat! Hey, hold up! What's your hurry?"

"Hi, Faith," Kat said with a smile as she stopped by the staircases, looking over at her sister.

"Don't just 'hi, Faith' me," her sister said, almost irritably. "What was all of that about?"

Kat gave her a curious look, bewildered. "What was all of what about?" she asked.

"Oh, come on, you know perfectly well what I'm talking about," Faith said, placing her hands on her hips. Kat stared at her, dubious and she sighed. "What was going on with you and Diggory?"

"Nothing," Kat said, too quickly and her sister's smile widened. "There wasn't! We were just talking." Even to herself, she didn't entirely believe that, which was why Faith probably had such a wide grin to her face. "We were!" she insisted, resisting the urge to squirm under Faith's scrutiny.

"Uh-huh."

"Stop it, Faith," Kat implored her.

"If you say so. I guess there were certain prospects on why you went into Hufflepuff," she said brightly. Most unfortunately, there were a couple third-year Hufflepuffs that walked past her at that moment, glaring at Faith as she said that. "Sorry, guys," she said apologetically.

"Faith, contrary to popular belief, there are other reasons besides boys to go into a certain house," Kat told her.

Wrinkling her nose, Faith frowned at her. "Like what?" she asked innocently, almost childlike.

"Like having certain attributes that are what the founders looked for in their students?" Kat suggested. Her sister only stared at her, looking completely flabbergasted and she sighed. "Never mind. I have to get going if I want to get to the North Tower on time."

"You signed up for Divination?" Faith asked, incredulous. "Jeez, I dropped that the first day and signed up for Muggle Studies."

"Mom actually let you take that?" Kat inquired as she headed up the stairs, mindful of Cedric's instructions on where to go. Faith followed her, a mischievous look on her face, making Kat know the answer even before her sister gave a reply. "No."

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her," Faith said soberly. "And besides, sis, it's not like she pays enough attention to even realise which classes I signed up for. As far as she knows, I'm still taking Divination and it'll probably be on my last day of school here that she's even going to realise that I've been taking Muggle Studies the entire time. Plus, it's fascinating."

Kat smiled and shook her head. "I don't need to take it. Dad was raised Muggle, remember, and he raised me in the Muggle world."

"Hermione Granger's Muggle-born and she still took it last year. As I remember, she thought that it would be interesting to study it from the wizard's point of view."

With a laugh, Kat grinned as they reached the fourth floor. "Thanks, but I'll stick with Divination."

"Well, I'm this way," Faith said, getting off of the staircase. "I've got Ancient Runes first thing. How they expect us to think about runes this early in the morning, I have no idea . . ." She continued to prattle on, leaving Kat standing by the staircase, shaking her head after her sister.

"That girl's gonna find herself in more trouble than she can handle one day," she mused as she continued on the staircase to find the way to Divination.


	9. Life in the Castle

**Kathryn Winchester and the Goblet of Fire**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Nine: Life in the Castle

The first week flew by as though she had just blinked and for the first time in her life, Kat found herself enjoying being away at boarding school instead of staying at home. Although there were a few teachers that seemed to have a grudge against the world at large (all right, mostly Snape), she was settling into life at Hogwarts with surprising ease. She was also starting to make friends, which for her was highly unusual.

Jo made a surprising fast friend, always with a grin and a laugh in place, dragging her off to class without a care in the world, joking and smiling. Kat couldn't help but smile as the two of them became friends. Although she had a few friends at Lerion, there was no one who would pull her out of a crowd and insist that she hang out with them, which was probably why she felt so awkward around the other students at first.

The Hufflepuff fourth-years were nice and pleasant as they helped Kat adjust to life in the castle and even formulated a study group for all of them, not only for her to get caught up in the schoolwork, but also to start preparing for O.W.L.'s the following year, something that Kat was not particularly looking forward to.

Cedric, too, always had a smile for her, always inviting her to come study with him if she needed some help or hang out with him if she just needed to talk. While she enjoyed Jo's company, Cedric was someone that she could talk to about stuff she couldn't talk with anybody else about. And some of the things that he talked to her about, she knew that he didn't want anybody else to know. They had a strong trust between them, able to trust each other and talk to one another about stuff they couldn't tell anybody else. Kat didn't know what it was, but she trusted him in a way she had never trusted anyone else.

But even to Cedric, Kat couldn't talk about the one thing that had been bothering her since she arrived here.

Professor Moody.

Practically the moment that she stepped into his classroom, she had noticed that there was something off about him. Granted, Kat had never met the man before, but she had heard enough about him from her father's stories that she pretty much knew him. She knew that he had been getting paranoid in his old age, but there was something that just seemed a little . . . well, odd about him.

Especially the way that his eyes had flashed towards her the moment that he read off her name, training on her with a flash of recognition in his normal eye. The other one just rolled around, as per usual.

But there was something besides recognition, something that Kat couldn't recognise, but it almost looked like . . . anxiety, worry, even alarm. Of course, it had only been for a brief second that she had seen it, so she half-thought that she had just imagined it.

The worst part about not being in the same house as Faith was not being able to see her sister as much, Kat thought. However, Faith was determined to see her as much as possible and resorted to hanging out with her Hufflepuff friends when she was able.

Of course, there was sometimes when the sisters were just hanging out by themselves before heading off to dinner. Faith was chattering endlessly on end as they were heading towards the entrance hall when they heard some kind of commotion going on and went to investigate, finding Harry, Ron, and Hermione in the middle of some kind of disagreement with Draco Malfoy.

"And there's a picture, Weasley! A picture of your parents outside their house—if you can call it a house! Your mother could do with losing a bit of weight, couldn't she?"

"Get stuffed, Malfoy," Harry retorted as Faith looked at Malfoy in deep annoyance. "Come on, Ron—"

"Oh, yeah, you were staying with them this summer, weren't you, Potter?" Malfoy sneered. "So tell me, is his mother really that porky or is it just the picture?"

"You know your mother, Malfoy?" Harry retaliated. "That expression she's got, like she's got dung over her nose? Has she always looked like that or was it just because you were with her?"

Faith giggled and Kat shook her head, a hint of amusement flooding through her as she saw Malfoy's expression. "He's good," she muttered to her sister.

"I know," Faith agreed. "I wish that we had popcorn."

Kat gave her sister a look as she saw Malfoy pull his wand out of his pocket, aiming it at Harry.

She wasn't sure what happened, but the next thing that she knew, her wand was in her hand and a spell was escaping from her mouth. "_Expelliarmus!_" she yelled.

His wand flew out of his hand, landing a few feet away and she glared at him in annoyance. Malfoy spun, glancing around to see who it was who had disarmed him, a scowl plastered onto his face when his eyes landed on Kat, her wand still in her hand.

"Stay out of this, half-breed," he snapped.

"Sure, that's exactly what I'm going to do," Kat agreed, giving him a sharp look. "Faith, go get Professor McGonagall, would you? I'm sure she'd love to hear what's going on." Malfoy's pale face went even paler at the thought of the Transfiguration teacher coming onto the scene. "Or even better, Professor Moody. He might have a more painful punishment in store for you."

"What? Too scared to take me on by yourself, coward?" he taunted her. Kat frowned at him.

"I don't have to prove anything to you, Malfoy," she said delicately. "You're just a bully, someone who preys on the weak just for the heck of it. And there's a word for people like you, Draco. _Loser_," she added, causing a few people to giggle. Ron laughed at Malfoy's expression. "And the thing is, I feel sorry for you, because that's who you'll always be."

Malfoy's sneer deepened. "You don't know me."

"Oh, but I do," she assured him. "Just an arrogant, egotistical, harebrained tyrant who's so obsessed with his own pride that he can't see people for who they are. And that's how it's always going to be, isn't it? Maybe it's because you're so insecure that you just take it out on everybody else so you can feel superior. Or maybe you just didn't get enough love and attention as a child. But in any case, when you grow up a little bit, you're going to see just how delusional and pitiful you really are. And you want to know what?"

She took a step towards Malfoy, giving him a sweet smile. "I really hope I'm there when you finally realise that," she told him. Malfoy's expression was laughable as she turned on her heel and headed back to Faith, leaving Malfoy standing there, completely thrown and stunned, as they went into the Great Hall for dinner.

--

Kat was sitting in the common room, pouring over her Transfiguration homework when a shadow passed over her and she glanced up to see Cedric standing right above her, a smile on his face as he looked at her.

"Hey," she said, smiling back at him.

"Hey, yourself," he said as he took a seat opposite of her. "Heard about your little discussion with Malfoy."

"Where'd you hear that?"

"People have been talking about it all afternoon," he informed her. Kat's eyes widened and she groaned, leaning her head back in distress. "Apparently, Elaine picked it up in the girls' bathroom."

If it were possible, Kat's spirits dropped even further. "Well, if it's in the girls' bathroom, then it's all over the castle," she grumbled.

"Well, if you don't want people to talk, then I'd suggest not getting into it with Draco Malfoy," he advised her. "Did you really call him an insecure, egotistical loser?"

Kat winced slightly, ducking her head to hide her face flushing. "It . . . might have been something along those lines," she admitted. Cedric started laughing. "Hey, anybody can curse that jerk, but telling him exactly why he's a jerk takes talent."

"Didn't say that it didn't, I just wish that I could have been there," he returned, still grinning. Kat reluctantly smiled as she looked back down at her homework. "So, how are you settling into the castle? Everything okay?" Cedric asked.

"Yeah, it's great," Kat answered, looking back up at him. "Everybody's been really great. Apart from getting lost a few times on my way to class, everything's good."

"Good," Cedric said with a grin. "And don't worry about getting lost; it takes everybody awhile to get used to the staircases moving at any given moment." He paused, looking over her shoulder. "Transfiguration, huh?"

"Yeah, McGonagall's a lot tougher than Professor O'Donnell was at my last school," Kat said swiftly, shaking her head.

"She's still better than Snape."

"Well, McGonagall's tough, Snape's just downright scary," Kat muttered, wincing at the very thought of the Potions Master. Her first encounter with him had been enough for her to just duck her head and focus on her potion until the end of lesson.

Cedric laughed and her heart skipped a beat at the sound. She loved his laugh, the way that his eyes lit up whenever he did it. Somehow, it made his entire face light up.

Pushing a strand of hair behind her ear, Kat looked at him. "So, are you still thinking about entering the tournament?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, I am," he answered. "It's something that I want to do."

Kat heaved a sigh. "Well, if you do happen to get chosen, try not to get yourself killed," she told him.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Don't mention it."

He shook his head, watching her carefully with an expression that she had never seen before, not when boys were looking at her. Never once had any boy looked at her with that fascination, that allure . . . and it kind of intimidated her.

Clearing her throat and managing—just barely—to pull her gaze away from him, Kat looked down at her hands. "Well, good luck," she told him. "I'm kind of torn on whether or not I want you to get picked, though."

"Why?" Cedric sounded surprised.

She looked at him, eyebrows raised. "Well, because the Tournament's super dangerous and I know that it's not supposed to be lethal anymore, but somebody could still get hurt and . . ." She trailed off, well aware that Cedric was still watching her and she shifted nervously, wishing that he would look at something other than her. "And I don't want you to get hurt," she finally confessed, turning red.

His hand suddenly lifted her chin towards him and Kat looked up to see him smiling at her. "I won't get hurt," he told her reassuringly. "Besides, there's about a million to one chance that I'll actually get picked."

"Yeah, and you might actually be the one," she pointed out. Cedric smiled, but just shook his head.

"I doubt it."

"Well, I'm a worrier, so I'm just gonna worry," she told him. "And possibly get this essay done from McGonagall before midnight."

"Let me see," Cedric instructed. She looked at him, but waved at him to take a look at it. He took the parchment and started looking over it, his blue-grey eyes moving further down as he continued to read, keeping his face impassive until he was finished and then he looked back up at her, a small smile on his face.

"All right," he said at last. "I think I can see why you're having trouble figuring out the human transforming."

"What's that?"

"Well, you're focusing too hard on the theory of it," he explained, moving to sit right next to her. "You need to look more at the basic principles of it. Here, try reading this chapter here," he suggested, flipping through her book and opening it up to a particular chapter. "Read that one and then try it."

Kat frowned. "All right. Thanks," she said gratefully. "I guess you can kind of figure out Transfiguration's not my best subject."

He shrugged. "Don't worry. I had the same problem. Besides there's a least one subject that people have trouble with," he said. "Snape wouldn't even let me into the N.E.W.T. level class because I got a lower grade than he would accept."

"You ever consider that the problem might not be Potions?" Kat suggested. "Maybe it's just the teacher."

Cedric chuckled. "Maybe. Come find me when you're done, I'll take another look at the essay."

"All right. Cedric?" she added as he stood up. "Thank you."

"No problem," he assured her as he went to head back to his own studying. Kat watched him go, her heart beating surprisingly fast as she returned her gaze to the book, but her heart was still racing, knowing that he was still watching her.


	10. The Guests Arrive

**Kathryn Winchester and the Goblet of Fire**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Ten: The Guests Arrive

The last weeks of summer slowly drew to a close, bringing forth autumn and as the weather began to turn cooler, the leaves too began to change, showing the change in the seasons. And as the seasons began to change, there was a feeling of heightened excitement settling down upon the castle, for everyone knew that, with the end of October slowly approaching, the students from the other schools would be arriving and the Triwizard Tournament would begin.

Kat was walking through the halls with Jo, with the latter chatting endlessly and the former mostly just listening, as they headed towards the Great Hall for breakfast one morning when they both saw a crowd forming around a sign that was at the foot of the staircase. Due to the fact that they were unable to get through because of the crowd, Kat and Jo were left with no choice but to join the crowd and see what exactly was going on.

"What's this all about?" she asked Jo, who shrugged, jumping up and down a few times to try and see over everybody's head, but while Jo was taller than Kat, she still couldn't see over the top of everybody's head.

"I think we're going to have to push our way through," she said decidedly as Faith came up behind them with Fred and George.

"What's going on?" she asked curiously, looking towards Kat, who shrugged. "Well, let's go see."

"Yeah, well, there's the problem of actually getting through—" Kat was forced to stop talking and squealed in surprise as, without warning, someone scooped her up. Her head jerked around to see who it was that was hoisting her up and she saw Cedric grinning at her mercilessly.

"What are you doing?" she asked, flustered and if the way that her face felt like it was heating up was anything to judge by, she was sure that it was turning a violent shade of red. Not to mention, the way that her sister and her best friend were smirking at once another, no doubt coming up with ideas to torture her about this.

"Trying to make it easier," he answered, still grinning at her. Kat wished that Jo and Faith would stop smirking; it was just making her face turn even redder. "What's it say?"

Giving him a scowl, Kat looked over the other students, which was all too easy now that he was holding her up. "The Triwizard Tournament," she read to the people around her. "The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 o'clock on Friday, the 30th of October. Lessons will end a half an hour early—"

"Oh, fantastic!" Jo said sarcastically, looking faintly disappointed, making a face. "We've got History of Magic last of Fridays! It's the only time that I can get a nap in."

"Well, you're supposed to be taking notes," Kat pointed out to her. "Not taking a nap."

"Kathy," Jo said seriously, "I think that you're the only person in this school that's able to stay awake during Binns' lessons."

"You forgot about Hermione Granger," Faith reminded her, shaking her head in dismay. "That girl can go through any class and not fall asleep in. Honestly, I'm still trying to figure out how she manages to do all of that homework, plus whatever wacky adventure she and her friends manage to get themselves into."

Rolling her eyes at the two of them, Kat returned to reading the board. "Students will return their bags and books to their dormitories and assemble in front of the castle to greet our guests before the Welcoming Feast," she finished. "October 30th," she repeated slowly. "That's only a week away."

"Hey, Ced, you know, she's done reading," Faith informed the older Hufflepuff. "I think that you can put her down now." Kat glared at her sister, who just grinned shamelessly, and Cedric sighed, reluctantly setting her back down on her feet with everybody else.

As she brushed her hair behind her ear, Kat looked up at him while Faith and Jo were talking behind them, doubtlessly how they were going to torture her at a later date about this.

"Still worried?" he asked.

"Of course, I worry," she answered, knowing what he was talking about. The Tournament and him entering. "This thing's dangerous and I still can't believe that they're even continuing it. And I will continue to worry if you do happen to get picked until June. Then I might be able to breathe easier."

"Yes, but like I said, there's only a very slim chance that I'm even going to get picked," Cedric reminded her as they sat down at the table.

Kat said nothing; she wasn't a seer, she didn't have visions of the future or anything like that. But her dad had often called her psychic, because she could sometimes sense the future, could tell when something odd was gonna happen. And she had been having those feelings ever since she had first heard about this tournament.

Whether something showed on her face or he had just gotten to know her well enough, Kat had no idea, but Cedric smiled, reaching over and slipping his hand into hers, lacing their fingers together. They were a perfect match, Kat noticed, looking down at them before her blue-green eyes lifted to meet his blue-grey ones.

"Thanks, though," he added with a smile.

"For what?" Kat inquired, wishing that he wouldn't let go of her hand, that they would just stay entwined until the end of time.

"Worrying about me," he answered, still smiling down at her. Kat smiled back, ducking her head to avoid the blush that was streaming across her face. "So how'd you do on that Transfiguration essay?"

"Not bad," Kat said, grateful for the change of subject. It was starting to get way too intense for her taste. "It probably would have been a lot lower if you hadn't helped me though."

Cedric shrugged. "It's no problem, you're still getting used to things around here." Both of them looked at each other and the intensity started to sky-rocket again and Kat was sure that he was going to hear her heartbeat as it hammered in her chest.

She wasn't sure what was going to happen had the intensity continued, but thankfully, Fred—or possibly George—lit off some firecrackers that sparkled in the hall and caused everyone to either duck for cover or race out of the hall. Kat couldn't help but laugh as McGonagall went off, yelling at the two of them so loudly that she went hoarse before giving them detention.

"You know what?" she asked suddenly. "I'm really glad that I came to this school." Faith snorted and Jo grinned while Cedric chuckled, linking their hands together before breakfast began, but she couldn't resist stealing several glances as Cedric as she ate, feelings starting to stir within her that had never happened to her.

And she was starting to think that what Faith had teased her mercilessly about since Kat had met Cedric was actually true. Maybe, just maybe . . . she was starting to fall for him.

--

On the night before Halloween, the atmosphere within the castle seemed to have heightened, as almost every single person was anxiously awaiting the end of classes so that they could see the arrival of their guests. Because then, once they arrived, would the Triwizard Tournament finally begin. Kat and Jo, whom she had to practically shake awake after History of Magic was let out, headed up to their dormitory before returning to the entrance hall, fastening their cloaks as they did so.

The entrance hall was completely filled and the heads of houses were currently ordering students to get into lines. Kat caught sight of Cedric as he was talking to Elaine and Andy, her face flushing slightly, but he glanced at her with a smile and waved at her. She smiled back, returning the wave as she and Jo slipped into the crowd, joining the rest of their Hufflepuff fourth-years as they headed outside, scanning the sky above anxiously.

"Where are they coming from, anyway?" Kat asked, looking at Jo curiously. "I mean, how far away are they supposed to be from?"

"I don't know," Jo mused, frowning slightly. "My cousin Vladimir went to Durmstrang and he said that it was really cold there, but he never told me where it was, because he was really scared of their headmaster." She shivered slightly. "He also said that they practice Dark Arts there, but that could have just be Vlad talking. Sometimes, he does say stuff like that just so he can scare the rest of us."

"Nah, Dad never did have a good judgment about that place," Kat said, shaking her head. "I mean, I'm sure that the students might be nice—some of them anyway—but probably a lot of what is said about that school is probably true."

"Not all rumours are true," Jo reasoned. "If they were, then we'd have to believe that you were a stuck-up, snobby Yankee."

"What?" Kat asked, looking at her quickly.

"Listen in the girls' restroom sometime," Jo advised, grinning slightly. "There was a full report on you before you even set foot on this campus. You'd be surprised what people think about you, especially after how you told off Malfoy that one time," she laughed.

"Am I never going to hear the end of that?" Kat complained. She paused, looking at her best friend. "Do people really think I'm stuck-up?" Jo nodded, grinning wildly. "Wow. That's the first time that people have ever accused me of being conceited."

"Yeah, well, welcome to my world," Jo muttered, glancing towards the sixth-years, where Elaine was still talking with Cedric. "I have to put up with being Elaine's little sister until I graduate from here. Ever since I arrived here, people expected me to make the same good grades she did and take the same classes that she did."

Kat, who had only had a twin sister and two younger brothers for a couple of months, couldn't really understand how that felt, but she did know that Jo didn't mean half of what she said. Sure, she hated being compared to Elaine, but the affection between the McKinsey sisters was mutual and genuine.

"She's only here for a couple more years and then you won't have to live under her shadow anymore," she reasoned. Jo rolled her eyes.

"Yeah and then I'll be hearing how wonderful she's doing at the Ministry and she and Andy will probably get married and have beautiful children and they'll live happily ever after," she grumbled.

"Okay, honey, you really need to stop," Kat ordered her. "If you want to get out of your sister's shadow, then you need to stop complaining about her and focus on what makes you happy. Once you do that, then it doesn't matter what you're doing, because you'll be happy."

Jo made a face at her. "That's easier said than done," she said darkly, glancing towards the sky. "Hey, what's that?"

"Unless I am very much mistaken, the delegation from Beauxbatons approaches!" Dumbledore called as Kat lifted her eyes back up towards the sky, searching the heavens for any sign of what Jo had seen. And finally, she saw it, something small but growing steadily faster as it came closer and closer to the castle.

"What is it?" Jo asked incredulously.

"It's a dragon!" shrieked one of the Hufflepuff first years, but a Gryffindor contradicted her.

"Don't be stupid! It's a flying house!"

Well, he wasn't far off, Kat reasoned as the shape came closer and closer, finally revealing itself to be a carriage about the size of a large house, drawn by the most enormous horses that Kat had ever seen before and all of them winged palominos. Kat had seen winged horses before; her dad's cousin owned a ranch, breeding them in Wisconsin, but she had never seen them this huge before.

The carriage loomed over them, finally landing right in front of them with a crash that made Kat wince and she saw the emblem on the door—two golden wands crossed each producing three stars—right before it opened and a Beauxbatons student climbed out, fiddling with something before he stepped back as golden steps unfolded and a woman appeared.

If the horses had seemed extraordinarily large to Kat, then they were nothing compared to this woman. She looked like she could have stepped right onto the first-years easily. Kat was not the only one who was staring, she noticed as she managed to pull her gaze away from the woman. All of them were gawking at her, staring wide-eyed at the abnormally large woman as her students climbed out of the carriage after what Kat assumed was their headmistress.

"My dear Madame Maxime," Dumbledore said politely as he bent to kiss her gloved hand that had several, glittering gems on it. He didn't even have to bend in order to do so and the headmaster was quite tall.

"Dumbledore," Madam Maxime said in her thick accent, "I hope I find you well?"

"In excellent form, thank you," Dumbledore answered as Madam Maxime waved her hand at the students that were gathering around her.

"My pupils," she introduced before looking at Dumbledore. "Has Karkaroff arrived yet?"

"He should be here any moment," Dumbledore answered. "Would you like to wait here and greet him or would you prefer to step inside and warm up a trifle?" Madame Maxime looked thoughtful for a moment before she eyed her students, all of whom were shivering. Kat wondered why they hadn't brought their cloaks.

"Warm up, I think," she answered before the conversation turned to the caring of the horses and after several assurances from Dumbledore that they would be well taken care of, she and her students headed inside.

"Wow," Jo whispered once they were safely inside and away from hearing distance. "That is one big woman."

"No kidding," Kat agreed, shaking her head as she looked back towards the sky. "How do you think Durmstrang is going to get here?" Jo shrugged, continuing to search the skies until their attention was drawn to something else entirely as an odd, peculiar sound started emerging from the lake and Kat's eyes flashed to it.

"What on earth . . .?" she asked to no one in particular and Jo's eyes were focused on it, looking frankly bewildered as the clear surface suddenly was bubbling as though someone had started boiling it and circled around the centre of the lake, where something was appearing from it.

Very slowly and very carefully, almost anticipating their eagerness, a ship came into view, climbing out of the water and levelling itself onto the lake as it slowly returned to normal and moved towards the shore. Once the ship was anchored and securely latched, students began climbing off and right in the very front was a tall and cold. There was something in his eyes that Kat didn't like as he reached Dumbledore and they greeted one another.

Her attention was so focused on the headmaster of Durmstrang—whom Dumbledore identified as Professor Karkaroff—that Kat didn't notice how a lot of her students were focused on something else. Or more accurately, someone else. One of the students that was mixed within his peers.

It wasn't until Jo slapped her arm and Kat looked back at her that she noticed that almost everyone was staring at the student, especially after the way that Karkaroff singled him out and she frowned; she knew him from somewhere, had seen him somewhere recently. He looked way too familiar and she usually knew—

Kat caught sight of her sister, standing in the Gryffindor line, and it only took the expression on Faith's face to know at once who this boy was and she inwardly groaned.

"Krum?" she guessed, looking at Jo, who looked at her as though she were completely crazy.

"Krum," she confirmed, shaking her head at the blonde. "I thought your dad was a Quidditch player. Shouldn't you know this kind of stuff?"

"I like Quidditch," Kat muttered as she followed Jo into the castle with the rest of Hogwarts. "I just don't pay much attention to the players, that's all."

The snort that came from her best friend was enough to tell Kat what she thought of that. Kat smiled, shaking her head as she took her seat at her table, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as the feast started to begin.


End file.
